Language and Translation

Wave has three language settings and they do different things. Changing the one you meant to change is usually the whole problem.

• App language — the language of Wave's buttons, menus, and screens. 15 options. Doesn't touch your recordings.
• Recording language (called Transcription language on the web and desktop) — the language Wave expects to hear, used for transcripts and summaries of new recordings. 57 options.
• Per-session language — translate or re-transcribe one finished session into another language, without changing your default.

Setting the language Wave transcribes in

This is the default applied to every new recording.

Changing the language for one recording

You can override the default per recording, before you start or while you're recording — the change is written straight onto that session.

Translating a session after you've recorded it

Finished sessions can be redone in another language from the session's customize panel, on any platform. Open the Language tab and pick a language. Then choose how far Wave should go with the retranscription switch (Retranscribe the audio on iPhone and Android, Full Audio Retranscription on the web and desktop):

• Switch off — the transcript stays in its original language and only the summary is rewritten in the new one. The button reads Regenerate summary on your phone and Regenerate Summary in Spanish (or whichever language you picked) on the web and desktop.
• Switch on — Wave re-transcribes the original audio in the language you picked and regenerates the summary from it. The button reads Retranscribe on your phone and Reprocess in Spanish in the desktop app. On the web the button label doesn't change, but the switch is what decides.

Retranscription is the more accurate of the two, because it works from the audio rather than from text that's already been transcribed. It needs the original audio file. If a session's audio has been deleted, the phone app hides the Language tab and the desktop app tells you the session can't be re-transcribed.

Where to find it:

• iPhone & Android — open the session, tap Customize in the action row, then the Language tab.
• Web — open the session, click the … menu and choose Customize summary (or click the Style: label above the summary), then the Language tab.
• Desktop — open the session, click Customize summary, then the Language tab.

Processing runs on Wave's servers, so you can close the app; the session updates itself when it's done. The Style tab of the same dialog changes the format of a summary rather than its language — see Customize Summary.

Changing Wave's own language

The interface is available in 15 languages: English, Español, Français, Nederlands, Polski, Italiano, العربية, Deutsch, עברית, 日本語, 한국어, Português, Русский, Türkçe, and 中文.

• iPhone & Android — Settings → App language under General: "Choose the language for Wave controls and navigation."
• Web — Settings → General → App language: "The language of Wave's menus and buttons on all your devices."
• Desktop — Settings → General → App Language. Menus, the tray, and dialogs all switch immediately.

Your choice syncs to your account, so setting it on one device carries to the others. If your device is set to a language Wave doesn't have, the interface falls back to English.

FAQ