From Plattdeutsch to Kölsch: regional speech across Germany
Most people in Germany speak standard German with some regional colour, and that transcribes cleanly. The trouble starts with speech that has its own words and grammar.
- Plattdeutsch (Low German) in the north is close to a separate language. There is no option for it, and the German setting turns it into broken standard German. Plan to transcribe those parts by ear.
- Kölsch in Cologne and the Rhineland: everyday Kölsch phrases are often rewritten as the nearest standard word. Carnival songs and speeches in full dialect come out poorly.
- Berlinerisch (ick, wat, jut) is usually written in standard spelling, so ick becomes ich. That is fine for minutes but not for a quote that should keep the voice.
- Franconian and Hessian speakers merge p and b, t and d. Names with those letters deserve a second look.
Other languages spoken in Germany
Germany has large Turkish, Russian-speaking, Polish, Arabic-speaking and Ukrainian communities, and English is the working language of many offices in Berlin and Munich. Each of these is its own option in the language menu: Turkish, Russian, Polish, Arabic, Ukrainian, English.
Pick the language that fills most of the file. A Turkish family conversation with German words for school or work topics is best run as Turkish. A German interview where the respondent answers in Russian is harder, because the language changes with the speaker. If the two halves are long, cut the file with any audio editor and upload each part with its own language.
Sorbian in Lusatia and Kurdish have no option. Danish in Schleswig and Dutch near the border do, so set those directly.
Interviews with an interpreter are a common case in German research and social work. If the interpreter renders everything into German and the other language is short, keep German. If both sides are long, splitting the file gives the best result.
Typical recordings made in Germany
Students record Vorlesungen and turn them into notes for the exam period. Researchers run Experteninterviews and narrative interviews for theses and projects. Companies and Betriebsräte record meetings to write the Protokoll. Clubs, parish councils and Elternabende produce recordings that one volunteer has to write up. Local podcasts and Stadtrat sessions posted online need text or subtitles.
Upload the file as it is: a Zoom or Teams MP4, a dictaphone WAV, an M4A from an iPhone, or a WhatsApp voice note. Audio is pulled out of video automatically. You can also record straight from the browser microphone, or paste a YouTube link.
Lecture recordings from large Hörsäle often have echo and students talking in the back rows. A phone placed at the front desk or a clip-on mic for the lecturer helps much more than any setting after the fact.
A note on Datenschutz
German universities, employers and works councils often ask how a transcription service handles recordings. The one fact we state is that your files are never used to train AI models. This page makes no claim about server location or certifications.
If your ethics committee or data protection officer requires a specific data location or a signed agreement, clarify that before uploading interviews with personal data. Many researchers also pseudonymise names in the transcript editor before sharing the text.
For works council and staff meetings, agree on the recording with the people in the room first. The transcript is a working draft for the Protokoll, and someone who attended should read it before it is circulated.
From transcript to Protokoll or appendix
Edit in place while the player highlights the current line. DOCX suits a thesis appendix or meeting minutes, CSV puts each line in a spreadsheet row, and SRT or VTT turns a lecture video into German subtitles. TXT and PDF are also available, with timestamps and speaker names on or off. Speaker labels come with paid plans or a Minute Pack.