Communication should never have borders. With Speakap’s Automatic Translations feature, every employee stays informed, regardless of the language they speak. Powered by Google Translate, this feature bridges the gap between diverse teams instantly.
How it Works
With automatic translations, the content of your platform will immediately appear in your users' preferred language. By default, Automatic Translations are turned on to help you hit the ground running, admins can manage this feature. The system detects your preferred language based on your settings:
- Web: Uses the language set in your Speakap profile settings.
- Mobile: Uses the language settings of your mobile device.
Note: Your preferences are synced. If admins enable/disable automatic translations on the web, the feature will automatically update on your mobile app as well.
You will see this in a notice both on web and mobile, which will disappear once acknowledged.
What is Translated?
Most core features within Speakap support automatic translation, including:
- Updates, Comments, and Replies
- Polls and Tasks
- Events and Journeys
- News Items & Knowledge Base: These are translated once you click into the specific article or item (note: menu lists in the KB are not translated).
A note on Alerts: System alerts and push notifications are not translated in the notification tray. However, once you click the alert to view the content, the translation will apply.
Key Features & Limitations
The "See Original" Toggle
Transparency is key. You will always see a notification indicating that content has been automatically translated at the top of the feed.
- Refinement: From this notification, you can choose to "See Original" to view the text in its source language.
- Manual Trigger: If a post wasn't translated automatically for some reason, simply click "See Translation." Once you do this, that specific content will remain translated for you.
Language Nuances
Speakap uses standard language codes. Regional dialects or variations within the same language (e.g., Brazilian Portuguese vs. European Portuguese) are treated as a single language group (e.g., pt or nl).
Content Updates
- Edits: If a post is edited by the author, the translation will automatically update to reflect the new text.
- New Content Only: Automatic translation primarily triggers for new posts. For older content, you can still use the manual "See Translation" option.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Why isn't my content translating?
If your web language (e.g., Dutch) differs from your mobile language (e.g., Italian), the system looks for "Italian" users to trigger the translation. If there is no match or the language isn't supported, it may not trigger automatically.
The translation quality isn't perfect.
Since we use external tools for translating, the quality is dependent on their engine. We recommend keeping sentences clear and avoiding heavy slang for the best results.
Can I turn this off for my entire network?
Automatic Translation is a feature flag managed at the organizational level. If you are a Network Admin and wish to disable this for your platform, please reach out to Speakap Support.
I don't see this feature at all.
Automatic Translations is an add-on feature. If it is not visible in your network, it may not be part of your current subscription plan.