Manual Dictation
Dictating in other languages
Set the language you speak, use auto-detect, and see which languages each local transcription engine supports.
Neato Echo transcribes dozens of languages, plus an auto-detect option. Which of them are available depends on which engine you're transcribing with — they don't all support the same set.
Setting your language
Open Settings, then Preferences under App, and find the Language section. There are two settings there and they do different things:
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Interface language | The language Neato Echo's own menus and buttons are shown in |
| Transcription language | The language you speak when dictating |
Changing the interface language does nothing to your dictation, and vice versa. The app describes them as being set "independently" for exactly this reason.
Your transcription language applies everywhere — dictation, meeting notes, and uploaded audio all use the same one.
Auto-detect
Auto-detect is the default, and it works out the language from what you say. It's the right choice if you switch languages regularly or use more than one in a single passage.
Naming your language outright is more accurate than leaving it on auto, particularly on short or noisy clips where there's less for the detector to go on. If you nearly always dictate in one language, set it.
What each engine supports
All engines run locally on your PC.
| Engine | Languages |
|---|---|
| Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3 (default) | Multilingual (about 25 languages) |
| Whisper | Multilingual — the widest coverage |
| Nemotron 3.5 ASR Streaming 0.6B | Multilingual, streaming |
| Nemotron Speech Streaming EN 0.6B | English only |
| Parakeet Unified EN | English only |
Whisper has the widest coverage, so if a language you need isn't offered, check which engine that mode is on first — moving from Parakeet to Whisper adds thirty-odd languages. The English-only engines are the fastest, and the streaming ones show text live while you speak, but they won't transcribe anything else.
Getting the wrong language back
If you dictate in one language and get another, the usual causes are auto-detect making a call on a short clip, or a mode running an engine that doesn't cover the language you want. The words come out wrong walks through it.
Dictating in one language, pasting another
That's translation — a separate feature with its own hotkey. See translation.
Related
Still need help?
Write to [email protected] with your Windows version, your Neato Echo version (Settings → System), and what you were doing. A person reads every message.