Languages
HoloTalk shows live captions in 45 languages. In each session, the host chooses the languages the speakers will use and up to 10 translated caption languages for attendees.
On this page
How languages work in a session
- Spoken languages. A session can have up to 3 spoken languages, such as English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Each sentence is shown as it was said to attendees reading that language, and translated for everyone else.
- Caption languages. The host offers up to 10 translated caption languages besides the spoken ones, and can change them at any time, also during the session. A translated language is charged while someone reads it, and for a short time after its last reader leaves.
- The big screen. A projector view shows up to 3 languages at once.
- Summaries. Attendees who ask for the summary by email receive it in the language they chose.
The 45 caption languages
All of these can be shown as captions. All except Khmer, Punjabi and Sinhala can also be spoken in a session.
| Language | In its own name | Can be spoken |
|---|---|---|
| English | English | Yes |
| Simplified Chinese | 简体中文 | Yes |
| Traditional Chinese | 繁體中文 | Yes |
| Cantonese | 粵語（廣東話） | Yes |
| Japanese | 日本語 | Yes |
| Korean | 한국어 | Yes |
| Mongolian | Монгол | Yes |
| Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt | Yes |
| Thai | ไทย | Yes |
| Indonesian | Bahasa Indonesia | Yes |
| Malay | Bahasa Melayu | Yes |
| Filipino | Filipino | Yes |
| Khmer | ខ្មែរ | Captions only |
| Burmese | မြန်မာ | Yes |
| Hindi | हिन्दी | Yes |
| Punjabi | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ | Captions only |
| Nepali | नेपाली | Yes |
| Bengali | বাংলা | Yes |
| Urdu | اردو | Yes |
| Tamil | தமிழ் | Yes |
| Telugu | తెలుగు | Yes |
| Malayalam | മലയാളം | Yes |
| Marathi | मराठी | Yes |
| Gujarati | ગુજરાતી | Yes |
| Kannada | ಕನ್ನಡ | Yes |
| Sinhala | සිංහල | Captions only |
| Arabic | العربية | Yes |
| Persian | فارسی | Yes |
| Hebrew | עברית | Yes |
| Greek | Ελληνικά | Yes |
| Italian | Italiano | Yes |
| Spanish | Español | Yes |
| French | Français | Yes |
| German | Deutsch | Yes |
| Portuguese | Português | Yes |
| Russian | Русский | Yes |
| Turkish | Türkçe | Yes |
| Dutch | Nederlands | Yes |
| Polish | Polski | Yes |
| Ukrainian | Українська | Yes |
| Croatian | Hrvatski | Yes |
| Serbian | Српски | Yes |
| Macedonian | Македонски | Yes |
| Swahili | Kiswahili | Yes |
| Māori | Te reo Māori | Yes |
Captions in Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Hebrew are shown right to left.
Quality differs between languages
Speech recognition and translation are generated automatically, and their accuracy varies between languages, accents and topics. Less widely used languages, unusual names and specialist terms may contain more errors. A glossary of names and terms helps. Where accuracy is critical, also book a qualified interpreter.
The interface
HoloTalk's own pages are available in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Spanish. Captions are available in all 45 languages, whatever the interface language.