# The transcript is in the wrong language

> Why language auto-detection sometimes misses, why there's no manual override, and when retrying the transcription helps.

Updated: 2026-08-16 · Canonical: https://usecanto.com/help/troubleshooting/wrong-language-detected/

Canto detects the spoken language automatically from the audio itself, and there is currently no way to set the transcription language manually. When detection gets it wrong — usually on very short recordings or mixed-language speech — retrying the transcription is the one lever you have.

## Why does auto-detection miss?

Detection works from the speech in the recording, and it's very reliable when there's enough of it. It struggles when there isn't much to go on:

- **Very short recordings** — a few seconds of speech may not be enough to identify the language confidently, especially between closely related languages.
- **Mixed-language conversations** — meetings that switch between languages, or use heavy loanwords from another language, can tip detection toward the wrong one. The transcript follows a single detected language, so the minority language's passages come out garbled.
- **Quiet or noisy audio** — when the model can barely make out the words, its language guess suffers too. See [Get better audio quality](https://usecanto.com/help/recording/microphone-tips/).

Canto transcribes the languages listed in [Which languages does Canto support?](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/supported-languages/) — a language outside that list can't be detected correctly no matter how clear the audio is.

## Can I set the language manually?

No. There is no manual language override for transcription — detection is always automatic. We're honest about this because retrying in the hope of finding a hidden setting wastes your time; if your recordings are consistently detected wrong, [tell support](https://usecanto.com/help/troubleshooting/contact-support/) which language pair is involved so we know where detection is failing.

Note that your app language setting is not that override: it controls the interface and the language of AI-written content like summaries, but has no effect on what language the transcript is in. See [Change the app language](https://usecanto.com/help/account/change-language/).

## What can I do about a wrong-language transcript?

1. Open the recording and choose **Retry transcription** from the ⋯ menu. Detection runs fresh each time, and borderline recordings often come out right on a second pass. See [Retry a failed transcription](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/retry-transcription/).
2. If the same recording keeps detecting wrong, the audio itself is the problem — too short, too mixed, or too unclear for a confident call. The audio is unchanged and safe, so a retry never makes things worse.

## How do I avoid it next time?

- For short notes, speak a full sentence or two rather than isolated words — detection needs material.
- If a meeting will run mostly in one language, let the recording open with that language rather than greetings in another; the opening minutes carry weight.
- Record close to the speakers so the speech is clean.

## The transcript language is right but the summary isn't

Summaries and other AI-written content follow your app language, not the transcript's language. If the summary comes out in a language you don't want, change the app language setting — see [Change the app language](https://usecanto.com/help/account/change-language/).

Related articles:

- [Which languages does Canto transcribe?](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/supported-languages/)
- [Retry a failed transcription](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/retry-transcription/)
- [Change your language](https://usecanto.com/help/account/change-language/)