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VoiceTypr supports transcription in 99+ languages out of the box using Whisper AI models. No additional downloads or configuration required.

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Supported Languages

Whisper models support a comprehensive list of languages:

European Languages

English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Turkish, and more…
Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese), Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sinhala, and more…
Arabic, Hebrew, Persian (Farsi), Turkish, Urdu, Pashto
Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Amharic, Somali, Shona, Afrikaans, Malagasy
Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Breton, Georgian, Icelandic, Kazakh, Latin, Mongolian, Sanskrit, Welsh, Yiddish, and more…
See the complete list of 99+ supported languages in the language selector within VoiceTypr.

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Language Selection

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Setting Your Language

1

Open Models Tab

Navigate to the Models section in VoiceTypr
2

Find Language Selector

Located below the header, above the model list
3

Choose Your Language

Click the dropdown and select your spoken languageOr search by typing the language name
4

Start Recording

Your language selection applies immediately to new recordings
You can change language at any time. Each recording uses the language selected at the time of recording.

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Automatic Language Detection

Whisper can automatically detect the spoken language:

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How It Works

  1. Select “Auto” from the language dropdown (if available on your model)
  2. Start recording and speak naturally
  3. Whisper analyzes the audio and detects the language
  4. Transcription is returned in the detected language
Auto-detection works best for:
  • Single-language recordings
  • Common languages with distinct characteristics
  • Recordings longer than 5-10 seconds

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When to Use Auto-Detection

✅ Good Use Cases

  • Multilingual environments
  • Unsure which language you’ll speak
  • Testing different languages
  • Quick voice notes in various languages

❌ Avoid For

  • Professional transcription
  • Maximum accuracy needed
  • Mixing multiple languages in one recording
  • Very short recordings (< 3 seconds)

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Limitations

  • Code-switching: Switching languages mid-recording may produce mixed results
  • Accents: Strong accents may affect detection accuracy
  • Background noise: Can interfere with language detection
For best results, manually select your language instead of using auto-detection.

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Model-Specific Language Support

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Whisper Models

All Whisper models (Tiny, Base, Small, Medium, Large) support 99+ languages. Exception: English-only models (ending in .en)
  • Only support English
  • Faster transcription for English speech
  • Higher accuracy for English
  • Language selector shows only “English”

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Parakeet Models (macOS)

Parakeet models support 25 European languages only:
  • Bulgarian (bg)
  • Czech (cs)
  • Danish (da)
  • German (de)
  • Greek (el)
  • English (en)
  • Spanish (es)
  • Estonian (et)
  • Finnish (fi)
  • French (fr)
  • Croatian (hr)
  • Hungarian (hu)
  • Italian (it)
  • Lithuanian (lt)
  • Latvian (lv)
  • Maltese (mt)
  • Dutch (nl)
  • Polish (pl)
  • Portuguese (pt)
  • Romanian (ro)
  • Russian (ru)
  • Slovak (sk)
  • Slovenian (sl)
  • Swedish (sv)
  • Ukrainian (uk)
When using Parakeet models, the language selector only shows the 25 supported European languages.

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Soniox Cloud Models

Soniox supports 48 languages, including:
  • Major European languages
  • English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese
  • Asian: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese
  • Middle Eastern: Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, Urdu
  • And more…
Language availability depends on your cloud provider. Check provider documentation for the complete list.

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Translation to English

Whisper can translate non-English speech directly to English:

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How It Works

This feature is currently not exposed in the UI but is available in the underlying Whisper model. It may be added in future versions.
When implemented:
  1. Record in any supported language
  2. Enable “Translate to English” option
  3. Transcription is returned in English
Example:
  • Speak: “Bonjour, comment allez-vous?” (French)
  • Receive: “Hello, how are you?” (English)

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Use Cases

  • International communication
  • Learning foreign languages
  • Translating voice messages
  • Quick translations without switching apps

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Best Practices

Select Your Language

Always manually select your language for best accuracy:
  1. Go to Models tab
  2. Choose your spoken language
  3. Start recording
Don’t rely on auto-detection for important transcriptions.
For non-English languages:
  • Speak at a moderate pace
  • Reduce background noise
  • Use standard pronunciation
  • Avoid heavy dialects when possible
Larger models (Medium, Large) have better multilingual performance:
  • Higher accuracy for non-English languages
  • Better handling of accents
  • More robust language detection
Before important work:
  1. Test with sample recordings
  2. Verify accuracy for your accent/dialect
  3. Adjust speaking style if needed
  4. Try different models (Small vs Large)

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Language-Specific Tips

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Asian Languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)

  • Use Small model or larger for best results
  • Tiny/Base models may struggle with character accuracy
  • Specify exact language (e.g., “Chinese” not “Cantonese”) when available

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Tonal Languages (Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese)

  • Speak with clear tonal distinctions
  • Use Medium or Large models
  • Reduce background noise (tones can be subtle)

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Languages with Multiple Scripts

  • Arabic: Transcribed in Arabic script
  • Hindi: Transcribed in Devanagari script
  • Chinese: Transcribed in Chinese characters (simplified)
Whisper outputs text in the native script of the language. No romanization is applied.

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Troubleshooting

Solution:
  • Manually select your language (don’t use auto-detect)
  • Ensure you’re speaking consistently in one language
  • Try a larger model for better detection
Solution:
  • Upgrade to a larger model (Small → Medium → Large)
  • Check microphone quality
  • Reduce background noise
  • Speak more clearly and slowly
Solution:
  • Switch to a Whisper model (supports 99+ languages)
  • Check if using Parakeet (only 25 European languages)
  • Verify model is downloaded and selected
Solution:
  • Record each language separately
  • Don’t code-switch within a single recording
  • Select the primary language before recording

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Switching Between Languages

For users who work in multiple languages:
1

Before Recording

Open VoiceTypr settingsCheck current language selection
2

Change Language

Go to Models tabSelect the language you’ll speak
3

Record

Use your hotkey and speak in the selected language
4

Verify

Check transcription accuracyAdjust if needed for next time
Create a workflow: Check language before important recordings. It takes 2 seconds but ensures accuracy.