"Accent from Zim": Video of Group Testing If Gemini Speaks Tshivenda Amuses SA

• South African Instagram account languagelearnersza tested Google's Gemini AI on its ability to speak TshiVenda
• The group had already put ChatGPT through the same challenge, and it reportedly failed the Venda language test
• Viewers were divided, with some praising Gemini's effort and others questioning whether the AI was genuinely responding

A South African Instagram account put Google's Gemini AI to the ultimate local language test on 17 August 2026, and the internet could not stop talking about it. The account @languagelearnersza posted the video with the caption "Can Gemini Speak Venda?" The clip showed a man filming himself alongside two women in a casual home setting.

The mood was light and full of laughter as the group fired TshiVenda phrases at the AI voice assistant and waited to see how it would hold up. The test came after the same group had reportedly tried the same experiment with ChatGPT, which failed to handle the language. Gemini, they hoped, might do better.

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During the clip, the group prompted Gemini to translate a phrase about a child, a common and straightforward sentence structure in TshiVenda. When Gemini responded, the group broke into cheers, with one person declaring it was "speaking perfectly." By the end of the video, the verdict from the group was enthusiastic: "Use Gemini, guys. 100%." Watch the TshiVenda test that got South Africans talking:

South Africans defend AI

Not everyone online shared the group's excitement. Viewers raised pointed questions about the authenticity and quality of Gemini's responses.

@moon_ink001 asked:

"Perfectly? 🧐"

@cacaoboy_southmade wrote:

"This is literally training the AI to make it better in the language, not as good as it sounds, trust me."

@madays__ noted:

"Accent from Zim."

@chif_gt added:

"Gemini is from Zimbabwe today."

@the_life__of_kannedy said:

"So fake Gemini doesn't talk back"

@thulani0ni pointed out:

"🤦🏽 LLMs are not good at voice you have to use a notebook or an AI language trainer"

Other Briefly News stories about AI

• A South African content creator, Chuma Memela, tested ChatGPT's voice feature in isiXhosa, only to find that the AI's accent was far from authentic.
• Cape Town journalist Michaela De Lim's concerns regarding the Department of Basic Education's efforts to introduce artificial intelligence in South African classrooms.
• A TikTok video of a man hilariously challenged ChatGPT to count to one million, only to find the AI steadfastly refusing to comply with his request.

Source: Briefly News