17. Machine-translated subtitles for language learning
National television often has high quality subtitles, but what if I don't speak the language yet?
Problem
Expats and immigrants want to watch television in the native language, but are not proficient enough to read and understand it even with subtitles. How am I supposed to join in the watercooler conversation about Love Island if I don’t speak English?
Resources for obscure languages with English subtitles are generally children’s shows, not shows you actually want to watch.
Solution
Machine translation plugin that integrates with streaming services, that takes the subtitles and translates them by talking to an API (such as DeepL). The quality of those translations should be good enough to watch the show and pick up a few words from the audio track.
This can be powered by a browser plugin that intercepts the subtitles track and swaps it out, the timings shouldn’t change.
Business Model
Good translation APIs are pretty expensive, usually in the order of $1 per 100,000 characters. One hour of footage is probably around 50,000 characters. But there’s one saving grace: you only have to translate a show once and its subtitles won’t change - so with multiple users watching the same show it can be offered for a reasonable price.
Motivation
My girlfriend is trying to learn a bit of Dutch, but there’s really not that many resources available for that. In The Netherlands you can view state-funded television on demand with Dutch subtitles, and there are also dedicated Dutch streaming websites. English subtitles are rare on those platforms however, which makes it impossible for her to consume those shows.