Google, in partnership with the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), on Wednesday launched a new AI Glossary for isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans, giving millions of South Africans the language tools to engage with artificial intelligence in their mother tongue.
The glossary defines 100 standard AI terms and their meanings in each of the three languages. This project builds on earlier work to produce a Swahili version in East Africa and is part of a broader collaboration between Google and African partners to make digital innovation more inclusive and bridge the digital divide for an estimated 266 million speakers of these four languages across the continent.
Among the terms defined are everyday concepts such as conversational AI – systems that simulate human dialogue through natural language processing – and hallucination, which describes instances where AI tools generate information that sounds credible but is incorrect. Other entries, like active learning and noisy data, explain how machines are trained and refined through interaction and information filtering.
Google country director, Kabelo Makwane from Google said the project shows what can be achieved when technology companies and language institutions work together.
“We want everyone to have the words to understand and shape the technologies that are changing the world,” Makwane said.
PanSALB chief executive, Lance Schultz, said the partnership demonstrates how linguistic development and digital innovation can go hand in hand. “Our aim is to ensure that South Africa’s languages remain living, relevant and adaptable,” he said. “By standardising AI terms, we are helping to modernise our languages and ensure that their speakers are not excluded from the global digital conversation.”
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