How to translate YouTube videos?

Would you like to translate a new YouTube video? You’re in the right place. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to translate a YouTube video step by step, as well as how to translate other people’s comments so you don’t miss anything about your favourite brands and influencers.

We’ll also talk about the limitations of automatic translation and what your options are if you are an international brand looking to reach a wider audience. Let’s dive in. 

How to auto-translate translate YouTube videos

After stopping their community-contributed subtitles, YouTube launched an automatic translation feature to translate subtitles for any video on their platform. Follow these easy 5 steps to translate your favourite video: 

1. Play the video you would like to translate.

2. In the bottom right corner, turn on the closed captions by clicking or tapping on the CC button.

3. You will see the automatically generated closed captions in English. Then go into settings and click or tap on Auto-translate. 

4. Now you just need to pick the language that you would like for the subtitles and the tool automatically translates these captions into your chosen language.

5. In this example, we selected Arabic and we can see that the subtitles are automatically translated into this language.

This translation feature is super helpful for anyone around the world. If you would like to watch a video in a language that you cannot understand, you can translate it in just a few clicks. This can be very helpful for students or to catch up with some breaking news from your favourite pop star. 

But it is important to acknowledge that like with any automatic or machine translation tool, YouTube’s automated translated subtitles may contain errors and lack accuracy in some instances, in particular when there are cultural references or humour that is rooted in the history and language of a country.  

How to auto-translate YouTube comments

Do you love reading the comments section of the YouTube video you are watching? It can be frustrating when a viewer leaves a comment, but it is in a language you cannot speak. But worry not, because here is how you can translate comments. 

In your mobile YouTube app 

In the YouTube app of your iPhone or Android phone, you can simply go to the comments section and scroll to the comment in the foreign language that you would like to translate. 

The “Translate to English” line should be under the foreign text. Click on it and you will be able to see the automatic translation provided by Google. The target language (the language you are translating your video into), is automatically detected and is usually based on your language settings or location. 

On your desktop 

If you are watching a YouTube video from your desktop with the Google Chrome web browser, you can use the YouTube Comment Translate extension (which also relies on Google Translate to provide the translation).

Translation services for YouTube videos

While automatic translation services such as the ones provided by Google or YouTube give you the gist of a video, they cannot translate on-screen elements or localise important information such as units of measurement or currency. 

If you’re translating a video for your business or other important purposes, you may want to consider professional subtitle translation services from a reliable language service provider vendor to ensure the translation is error-free and to make sure you connect with your audience effectively. By translating your YouTube video you can make your video content available to anyone, no matter the language they speak! 

Ampere Translations has extensive experience providing captions and subtitle translation services to help you reach your international audience. Get in touch today to discuss your needs. 

Benefits of translating a YouTube Video

The most evident benefit of translating a YouTube video is that you can make it accessible to people who speak different languages: YouTube is available in over 100 countries and 80 different languages, making it the number one video-sharing platform in the world. If we look at the number of YouTube users by country, India tops the list, with 467 million active users, followed by the USA with 246 million users. The countries that complete the top ten are Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, Pakistan, Germany, Vietnam and Turkey.  https://www.traditionrolex.com/38

Other benefits of translating a YouTube Video:

• Growth: Would you like to promote your product or service or grow your followers overseas?  By making your content accessible to viewers who speak different languages, you increase the potential for growth. 
• Better engagement with your audience: When you translate your subtitles, your viewers can understand better the message of your videos, building rapport and trust with them. This can lead to longer watch times and increased engagement (comments, likes and shares). 
• Increased loyalty: By translating your video, you show respect and consideration for different cultures and languages. This can foster a sense of connection with viewers from various backgrounds and help build your brand loyalty. 
• Higher Return on Investment (ROI): With more people engaging with your video content and following you, the chances of people taking action to boost your bottom line are higher. 

Whether you want to build brand loyalty among your customers or grow the audience of your YouTube channel, a video with multilingual subtitles will allow you to overcome language barriers between you and your audience. 

Are you looking for a translation partner to help you with your multilingual captions or subtitles? Ampere Translations has extensive experience providing captions and subtitle translation services to help you reach your international audience. Get in touch today to discuss your needs.