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Speech to Text in Arabic

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
November 18, 2022
64 replies
21706 views

I am surprised that Adobe has some languages included in Speech to Text (Transcribe) feature but not a major language which is used and spoken by over 350 million people which is Arabic? With so many Arabic production features now that are aired and uploaded to many online streaming services, it is CRITICAL that Adobe pays respect to it's users who work in Arabic content/film/TV series. Now that this request is as important as any new update, it is getting huge attention in the media and NLE users everywhere. So I hope that in the next update 23.1 Premiere Pro will have Arabic included in Speech to Text.

Mod note: Edited for content

Graphics

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Igor_Bondarenko

Participating Frequently

I ran into this exact problem myself while working on video projects — and eventually decided to build my own solution.

CaptionLab is a plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro that generates subtitles right on your project's timeline. No third-party apps, no browser tabs — everything happens inside Premiere.

Built on top of OpenAI Whisper — one of the most accurate speech recognition models out there.

What it does:
— Arabic + Urdu + 97 more languages Adobe still doesn't support
— 100% offline — your video and audio never get uploaded anywhere, everything runs locally on your own machine
— One click — select a clip or the whole sequence, hit Generate, it creates an SRT file you just drag onto the timeline
— No cloud, no API keys — safe for NDA projects
— No subscription, no limits, no credits, no tokens — buy once and forget about monthly payments
— Works on both Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows, with NVIDIA GPU acceleration on Windows for faster results

More details here:
captionlab.pro

If you have any questions, feel free to email:
editlabtools@gmail.com

Adding a quick overview video below:

User Interface available in multiple languages too

A

Ali Jaber

Community Expert

Nice tool, Igor! It’s great to see more developers stepping up to solve the language gap in Premiere Pro.

When I first designed Transcript Converter, I actually considered using local Whisper, but as a long-form editor who works on massive documentary projects, I realized that local offline transcribing has several major bottlenecks for professional workflows.

For editors looking for a deep production workflow, here is why Transcript Converter (now in version 2.5) takes a fundamentally different approach:

1. True Text-Based Editing (JSON vs. SRT)

CaptionLab generates an SRT subtitle file to drag onto the timeline. While fine for final captioning, it doesn’t help you edit.
Transcript Converter generates native Premiere JSON scripts. This means it enables Premiere’s native Text-Based Editing for Arabic and other unsupported languages. You can actually read, search, and cut your raw footage directly from the Text Panel, a massive game-changer for pacing and story assembly.

2. Speed and System Resources (Cloud API vs. Local GPU)

Local processing (Whisper) of several hours of raw footage is extremely taxing on your hardware, tying up your CPU/GPU and taking significant processing time.
By leveraging cloud APIs, Transcript Converter transcribes hours of footage in just a couple of minutes, running entirely in the background without slowing down your timeline or freezing your machine.

3. Precision & Accuracy (Especially for Arabic)

While Whisper is a decent general model, specialized cloud engines (like ElevenLabs or Sonix) are significantly more accurate when it comes to regional Arabic dialects, complex terminology, and proper grammar. For professional delivery, this saves hours of manual spelling corrections.

4. Almost Free & No Subscriptions

In version 2.5, Transcript Converter includes over 600 hours of free transcription across several leading services.
Even if you use your own API keys for premium models, there is no monthly subscription required. For example, ElevenLabs API costs a mere $0.22 per hour of transcription on their pay-as-you-go model. It is practically free, and you only pay for exactly what you use.

If you just need a quick, offline local subtitle file, local tools are a nice option. But if you need to actually edit your story using your transcripts with maximum accuracy and speed, Transcript Converter 2.5 is built to handle the heavy lifting.

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Igor_Bondarenko

Participating Frequently

Thanks for the thoughtful comparison, Ali — always good to see different approaches to the same problem. A couple of things worth adding for anyone comparing options:

Offline isn't a limitation here — it's the point. For NDA footage, client-confidential cuts, unreleased trailers, or corporate/legal/medical content, uploading to any cloud API — however fast or accurate — simply isn't an option. CaptionLab exists so that's never a tradeoff you have to think about.

On cost: pay-as-you-go sounds cheap per hour, but it's a bill that never ends and can change anytime the provider wants. CaptionLab is $39 once — run it on a thousand hours of footage or ten, the price doesn't move.

On editing workflow: native Text-Based Editing via JSON is a genuinely nice feature — it's on our radar for a future update. Right now, once the SRT lands on the timeline, Premiere's own subtitle panel already lets you search across it, jump straight to a line, and cut or copy the clip that matches — so you're not editing blind even without full text-based editing. That alone covers a lot of real workflows: interview and podcast transcription especially, where the whole job is finding the one usable quote buried in two hours of raw talk. Search the word, land on the exact timestamp, pull the clip.

Both tools are solving the same real gap Adobe's left open — just optimized for different priorities. If cloud accuracy and text-based editing matter most to you, Transcript Converter's a solid pick. If local-only, zero recurring cost, and fast quote-hunting through long interviews matter more, that's exactly what CaptionLab's built for.

TayyabDzn

Participant

Please “Urdu” Language too & also AI Enhance is trained on English dialoges. Make it availabe for other languages too.

A

Ali Jaber

Community Expert

It is disappointing that native Arabic support isn’t available yet. In the meantime, I’ve developed a tool to bridge this gap. It converts JSON transcripts from services like ElevenLabs, Whisper, and Sonix into a Premiere-compatible format, enabling Text-Based Editing for Arabic and other unsupported languages.

Even if Adobe adds official support later, you might still find this useful if you prefer the accuracy of third-party transcription services.

You can find it here: https://aescripts.com/transcript-converter/

Tutorial:

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reliable_niceness3112

Participant

All my company started to move into Canva because the AI genertaed arabic trasncript, It llok like adobe doent want to support the Arabic Languge

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intime_agency

Participant

This request is about unlocking immense creative potential and securing Premiere Pro's dominance in the rapidly expanding Arabic content market by delivering full language parity in its most advanced features.

The Essential Leap: Fully Integrating Arabic into Premiere Pro’s AI Future

By natively supporting Arabic across the platform, Adobe doesn't just fix a gap—it enables creators to leverage the full power of its cutting-edge technology, maximizing efficiency and creative output.

1. AI Transcription & Dialect Recognition: The Gateway to Speed

This is the crucial first step to harnessing AI automation.

The Gain: Instant, Accurate Transcription. Implementing advanced AI models trained for major Arabic dialects (Egyptian, Gulf, Levantine) will allow creators to instantly generate perfect transcripts.
The Result: This immediately transitions creators from spending hours on manual work to zero-time transcription, freeing them up to focus purely on storytelling and creative refinement.

2. Text-Based Editing (TBE): Unlocking Seamless Editing

TBE is the future of editing; Arabic must be a first-class citizen.

The Gain: Intuitive, Flow-State Editing. Full integration means Arabic text within the transcript panel will correctly reflect Right-to-Left (RTL) directionality, allowing editors to simply highlight and delete text to cut video clips with zero friction.
The Result: Uninterrupted creative flow for all RTL language users, matching the speed of LTR users.

3. AI Audio Tools: Realizing Full Power for Arabic Dialogue

Adobe’s new suite of intelligent audio tools will become invaluable assets for Arabic content creators.

The Gain: World-Class Audio Polish. Training AI models to accurately recognize Arabic phonetics means that features like Enhance Speech and Smart Audio Ducking will deliver professional-grade results on Arabic dialogue automatically.
The Result: Broadcast-quality audio achieved in seconds, democratizing high-fidelity production standards for the entire region.

4. Global Reach through Native Translation

The Gain: Instant Global Accessibility. Once the core Arabic transcript is perfect, native support allows for seamless, AI-driven translation into global languages, expanding the reach of Arab content effortlessly.

Call to Action for Adobe MAX:

We are asking Adobe to recognize the strategic importance of the Arab creator economy. Full, native Arabic support in these key AI-driven features is the key to empowering Arab creators and solidifying Premiere Pro as the global industry standard.

Vote now to champion the next great leap in Premiere Pro’s global adoption!

T

THE-KAL

Known Participant

Another AdobeMax and still no Arabic captions!!

Adobe what are you doing??

A

Ali Jaber

Community Expert

Sadly, main competitors have it (Cupcut, Resolve). I'm not sure but if I remember right, they have it even in the free versions.

C

Carlos5C66

Participating Frequently

Canva has it, Arabic (transcribe +caption translation). So shame on Adobe.

S

Seam_1

Participant

I want to Translate my caption from English to Arabic But There is no Arabic in target language can I add Arabic

P

PaulMurphy

Community Expert

As of now, Adobe Premiere Pro supports automatic caption translation in the following languages:

Danish
Dutch
English
Filipino
French (FR)
German (DE)
Hindi
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Malayalam
Norwegian (NO)
Polish
Portuguese (BR)
Portuguese (PT)
Punjabi
Russian
Simplified Chinese
Spanish (ES)
Swedish
Telugu
Thai
Traditional Chinese
Turkish
Vietnamese

Unfortunately, Arabic is not currently included in the list of supported languages for caption translation.

I

intime_agency

Participant

Right now, the Auto-Transcribe and Auto-Caption tools don’t recognize Arabic.
We spend hours using external AI sites or manual typing — which kills creative flow

Imagine if Premiere could:

Automatically transcribe Arabic dialogue
Generate accurate Arabic subtitles (RTL)
Detect dialects like Jordanian, Egyptian, Gulf, etc.

This would change everything for thousands of Arabic filmmakers, YouTubers, and editors.

Vote now for full Arabic transcript & captions support in Adobe Premiere Pro

I

Igor_Bondarenko

Participating Frequently

This is exactly why I built CaptionLab — it transcribes Arabic (MSA works well; dialect accuracy varies since it's powered by OpenAI's Whisper, not a custom Arabic model) and generates proper RTL subtitles, right inside Premiere, no external sites needed. Screenshots below.

Still hoping Adobe adds this natively too, but no need to wait in the meantime: captionlab.pro

Show more replies

1. True Text-Based Editing (JSON vs. SRT)

2. Speed and System Resources (Cloud API vs. Local GPU)

3. Precision & Accuracy (Especially for Arabic)

4. Almost Free & No Subscriptions

The Essential Leap: Fully Integrating Arabic into Premiere Pro’s AI Future

1. AI Transcription & Dialect Recognition: The Gateway to Speed

2. Text-Based Editing (TBE): Unlocking Seamless Editing

3. AI Audio Tools: Realizing Full Power for Arabic Dialogue

4. Global Reach through Native Translation

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