Flanders develops its own automatic subtitling system
Flanders is developing its own automatic subtitling system, supported by a consortium of media companies, research institutions and technology partners. The project aims to create technology fully tailored to the Flemish linguistic context.
Video dominates platforms such as VRT MAX, VTM Go, Play.tv, news sites and social media, and demand for subtitles continues to rise. “The amount of video content is growing rapidly, but professional subtitlers can’t keep up with this increasing demand,” Media minister Cieltje Van Achter said. “At the same time, existing automatic subtitling systems are inadequate for Flemish language variants.”
Current systems fall short
Many viewers will recognise the problem: “Automatic subtitling that misrecognises words, doesn’t understand dialects or converts sentences into unreadable text,” Van Achter says. As more Flemish people rely on subtitles, ranging from the hearing impaired to young people watching on the go, the shortcomings of current systems have become increasingly urgent.
The new project seeks to address this by building subtitling technology that “truly understands our language, with its characteristic dialects, expressions and media culture”. The goal is an automated model that fits the Flemish context and improves accessibility across the board.
The consortium will focus on three core innovations: a speech recognition model capable of accurately interpreting dialects and regional expressions, a subtitling model that converts transcriptions into readable, style-compliant subtitles, and a benchmark tool to systematically assess subtitle quality, supported by user testing.
Impact on accessibility
The potential impact, Van Achter says, is “significant”. It should streamline the subtitling workflow for media companies and enhance accessibility “for the hearing impaired, non-Dutch speakers and for anyone who prefers subtitles”.
She notes that the project offers both technological progress and “clear social added value: greater inclusion, stronger language support and a digital media environment that is accessible to everyone.”
Media partners VRT, DPG Media and Play Media call the initiative a “major step forward in the technological renewal of our media landscape”. They argue that automatic subtitles that understand Flemish dialects will make content more accessible and help build “a strong ecosystem that technologically protects and strengthens the Flemish language”.
The total project budget is 1,027,000 euros, of which 749,000 euros is funded by the Flemish minister of media.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO PIM RAS / HOLLANDSE HOOGTE
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