Real conversations rarely stay in one language. Sales calls switch to English for product names; family interviews switch back for emotion. The goal is not to force a single language, it is to keep the meaning intact.
Set the dominant language explicitly
Pick the language that carries most of the conversation rather than leaving detection to guess from the first few seconds. Detection is good, but a bilingual opening minute is exactly the case where it can commit to the wrong choice.
Mixed batches are fine
When you upload several recordings at once, each file keeps its own language. Set a batch default for the majority, then override the exceptions individually — the queue sends each file with its own setting.
Translate as a second layer, not a replacement
- Keep the original-language transcript as the source of truth.
- Generate an English translation for colleagues who need the gist.
- Quote from the original and footnote the translation when precision matters.
Translating a transcript into the language it is already in is blocked deliberately — it produces a lossy copy of something you already have.
Transcribe A Bilingual Recording
Set the spoken language, keep the original transcript, and add an English translation when colleagues need the gist.
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