Google partners with Gengo and Translated.net for professional YouTube captioning in 36 languages

Google has added some new functionality to YouTube’s Video Manager today in the form of translation vendors, giving any user access to professional translators for quick captioning in 36 different languages.

The video sharing service released a Request Translation button last September, giving channel owners an easy way to create caption translation documents and share them with other people.

Not everyone has access to a long line of friends capable of speaking multiple languages though. To get around this problem, Google has partnered with two companies – Gengo and Translated.net – to offer professional translations and speed up the entire process on YouTube.

Once users have clicked on Request Translation, they’ll now see the two vendors listed with some relevant information, including accepted payment methods, estimated price and completion date.

Channel owners will then be directed to the vendor’s website to finish the payment. Once the translation has been completed, it will be sent back to YouTube, where the user can then review the new captions and approve it for publication.

The new feature should make it easier for anyone – from independent vloggers to large broadcasters or media companies – to upload content in a wide variety of languages. That can only be an improvement, although it should be expected that some users will be averse to shelling out their hard-earned cash on a professional translation firm.

Today’s news follows an announcement earlier this month that Amara, a crowdsourced captioning platform, has launched a free version of its service for YouTube users.

Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images