In the thriving world of social media, TikTok has rapidly emerged as a leading platform, known for its addictive, short-form video content. With a sprawling global user base, language barriers can limit the full experience of the content. To address this, TikTok introduced a new translation feature last year, bringing a significant change to how users interact with content from different language communities.
Turning On Translate in TikTok
Activating the translation feature in TikTok is straightforward. Go to the video you want to translate. If there are comments or video descriptions in a foreign language, long press the text. An option for ‘translate’ will appear. Once you select it, the text is immediately translated into your set language.
TikTok’s Translation Feature
The translation feature introduced by TikTok is a game-changer. It enables the user to break down language barriers and enjoy content in their language. This feature facilitates the translation of text stickers, comments, video descriptions, and auto-generated captions, allowing users to fully understand and engage with the content.
Location of the Translate Button
The translate button is not separately located within the app. It emerges as an option when you long-press on a text within a TikTok video, whether it’s a comment, description, or text sticker.
Turning Off TikTok Translation
Turning off the TikTok translation feature requires changing the app language settings. Go to ‘Profile’ > ‘Settings and privacy’ > ‘App language’. Choose your original language, and the app will no longer provide translations.
Auto Translate in TikTok
Turning on auto translate on TikTok is currently in the early stages of development. With the upcoming new updates in the coming months, we can anticipate a more streamlined and real-time translation experience, enhancing the convenience for users.
Subtitles on TikTok
Closed captions, or subtitles, on TikTok were introduced to make the platform more accessible. To add subtitles, users can use the auto captions feature or manually enter text. Another option is to use the text-to-speech feature, which transcribes and reads aloud text stickers on a video.
Languages Supported by TikTok
As of now, TikTok translation supports various languages, including English, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Korean, and Indonesian. The goal is localization to enable new markets to enjoy TikTok videos in their preferred languages.
Top 8 Translation Apps
- Google Translate: A reliable, real-time translation tool that supports over 100 languages, including text, speech, and image translation.
- Amazon Translate: Amazon’s neural machine translation service that provides fast, high-quality, and affordable language translation.
- Microsoft Translator: A powerful translator that supports text, voice, and image translation in more than 60 languages.
- DeepL: Known for its superior translation quality due to the advanced AI technology it uses.
- iTranslate: This app supports over 100 languages, and it also offers a dictionary, phrasebook, and transcription service.
- Yandex Translate: Supports translation in 95 languages and provides features like image, website, and document translation.
- Papago: Developed by Naver, it specializes in East Asian languages and includes features like conversation and image translation.
- LinkedIn Translation: A feature within LinkedIn that helps translate posts and comments, making professional networking across language barriers simpler.
TikTok Translation is taking significant strides to enhance user experience and overcome language barriers, unlocking trending content for everyone. The future of social media is becoming more inclusive, and with these new features, we can expect a more interconnected global community.
