In the past few days, many YouTube creators who upload videos in regional languages like Nepali have faced a frustrating problem: video titles and descriptions are being automatically changed into English, even though they were written in their language.
This has confused viewers and made it harder for creators to communicate with their audience properly.
As a content creator who consistently uploads videos in Nepali, I’ve noticed that even though my original titles and descriptions are written correctly, YouTube is displaying them in English. This unexpected translation is not only inaccurate but also misleading, often resulting in mass confusion and viewer backlash.
Upon contacting YouTube support, I was told that this issue is related to automatic dubbing, a feature that translates audio tracks into different languages. YouTube mentioned that auto dubbing, when enabled, can trigger automatic translation of metadata such as titles and descriptions.
However, here’s the issue: I have already disabled the automatic dubbing option from my YouTube Studio settings (as shown in the screenshot below).
Despite this, the problem persists. My titles continue to show in English instead of Nepali, even though the language setting for my content is correctly set to Nepali.
YouTube has acknowledged this as a known issue and mentioned that the auto-translation takes place at the time of upload. If you edit your title or description afterward, the translated version doesn’t update or sync properly. This can even result in titles defaulting to the video file name or showing partial, inaccurate translations.
Currently, the only suggested workaround is to manually remove or replace the translated text in the Languages tab of each video inside YouTube Studio. This solution, however, is time-consuming, especially for creators who upload frequently or manage large content libraries.
This situation highlights the need for more control and transparency over how YouTube handles language settings for creators. Auto-translation features can be useful, but they should never override the creator’s intent, especially when the default language is already clearly defined.
For now, if you’re affected by this issue, make sure:
- Auto dubbing is disabled in YouTube Studio > Settings > Upload Defaults > Advanced Settings.
- You check the Languages tab of your videos and manually edit or remove unwanted translations.
Let’s hope YouTube rolls out a proper fix soon. Until then, creators will need to remain cautious and double-check how their videos appear to viewers.
