Transcribing a meeting in French on a Mac

To transcribe a meeting in French on a Mac, on the device, set the Mac's primary language to French, restart your notetaker, and record. Apple's on-device transcriber in macOS 26 supports French in four regional variants (France, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland), and once the French speech model is downloaded, it works with no connection. In Notey there is no per-meeting language picker: the transcript is in the Mac's language.

This guide gives the steps, what to expect from a French transcript, and the limits, including one that matters: Notey's after-meeting improvement is English only, so for a French meeting the live transcript is the final one.

Set your Mac up to transcribe French

1. Open System Settings › General › Language & Region.
2. Add French. Under Preferred Languages, click +, choose French (or the variety you want, such as French (Canada)), and click Add.
3. Make it the primary language. macOS asks whether to use French as your primary language. Accept it, or drag French to the top of the list.
4. Restart if asked. macOS may offer to restart so every app picks up the change.
5. Quit and reopen Notey, so it starts with French.
6. Download the speech model while online. The first time any app transcribes French, macOS downloads the model from Apple. Record a minute of French with a connection before you rely on it offline.
7. Test. Record a short French conversation and check the transcript.

To go back, move your usual language to the top of Preferred Languages again and restart Notey.

Changing the primary language changes the language of menus and most apps on the Mac, not only transcription.

The French variants

Apple's on-device transcriber reported these French locales on macOS 26.6 in September 2026:

Accents and vocabulary differ between them. Which languages a Mac can transcribe has the full list for all ten languages.

What to expect from a French transcript

On-device recognition handles clear French speech from a close microphone well. It has the same weak spots as in any language, plus a few that are more common in French meetings.

• Names, brands and acronyms. The words recognisers get wrong in every language. Check them before quoting.
• Numbers. Spoken numbers can be written as digits or as words. "Quatre-vingt-dix" and a fast "soixante-quinze" are worth checking against the recording.
• English words. French business speech borrows many ("le call", "la deadline", "un feedback"). Common ones often come through; others may come out as the nearest-sounding French words.
• Overlapping speech. Two people talking at once confuses any recogniser.
• Elisions and fast speech. Informal speech drops sounds, and recognisers can merge or split words around them.

The usual fixes apply in any language: headphones, a close microphone, one speaker at a time. Getting better meeting transcripts covers them.

The live transcript is the final one

After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on. That second pass is English only. A French meeting keeps the transcript made live, during the meeting.

So for French meetings:

• Correct what matters soon after the meeting, while you remember it: names, numbers, decisions.
• Every line plays from its timestamp. When a line looks wrong, listen to it.

A meeting in French and English

If your meeting switches between French and English, the transcript will be good in one and poor in the other, because the transcriber listens for one language at a time. Transcribing a meeting held in two languages covers the options.

Live captions in French

If you need captions on screen rather than a transcript, macOS Live Captions lists French (Canada) and French (France) on Apple's feature availability page as of September 2026. Live captions for meetings on a Mac compares it with the other options.

Recording in France

Transcribing a meeting means recording it. In France, private speech is protected by criminal law, and data-protection law applies to what you do with the recording. Tell everyone, and get their agreement, before you record. Recording calls and meetings in France covers the rules.

Switching between French and your usual language

If you hold some meetings in French and others in English, you do not need to remove a language to switch. Keep both in Preferred Languages and change the order.

1. Before a French meeting, open System Settings › General › Language & Region and drag French to the top of Preferred Languages.
2. Quit Notey and open it again.
3. After the meeting, drag your usual language back to the top and restart Notey again.

Change the language between meetings, not during one. A meeting already transcribed keeps the language it was transcribed in; changing the Mac's language later does not re-transcribe it.

Numbers in Belgian and Swiss French

French numbers differ by country. In Belgium and French-speaking Switzerland, people say "septante" (70) and "nonante" (90), and in parts of Switzerland "huitante" (80), where France says "soixante-dix", "quatre-vingt-dix" and "quatre-vingts". Apple lists French (Belgium) and French (Switzerland) as separate variants. Whatever the variant, amounts, dates and percentages are the words to check first in any French transcript.

Acronyms said as letters

French meetings are full of acronyms spoken letter by letter: RH, PDG, TVA, CDI, SIRET. A recogniser may write them as letters, as a word, or as something that sounds similar. If a meeting will lean on acronyms, put them in the agenda so you recognise the mangled versions, and correct the ones you will quote.

Notey and French

• Transcribed on your Mac. Audio is never uploaded. Recording, transcription and search need no account and no network.
• Your side and theirs come from two separate tracks, your microphone and what your Mac plays, so the transcript knows who is who whatever the language.
• One language per meeting: the Mac's. Set it before the meeting, as above.
• No after-meeting improvement for French. The live transcript is the one you keep.
• Every line plays from its timestamp, so a doubtful word is one click from the audio.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Mac transcribe French on the device?

Yes. Apple's on-device transcriber in macOS 26 lists French for France, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland. The model is downloaded once, then works without a connection.

Do I have to change my whole Mac to French?

For Notey, yes. It transcribes in the Mac's language, and there is no per-meeting language picker. Changing the primary language also changes menus and apps, so some people switch back after the meeting.

Does Notey improve French transcripts after the meeting?

No. The second, stronger pass after a meeting is English only. A French meeting keeps its live transcript.

What happens to English words in a French meeting?

Common ones often come through, and others may be written as the nearest-sounding French words. Check English terms and names in the transcript.

Is it legal to record a meeting in France?

French law protects private speech and data-protection law applies on top. Tell everyone and get their agreement first. The guide on recording calls in France covers the rules.

Can I switch between French and English meetings on one Mac?

Yes. Keep both languages in Preferred Languages, drag the one you need to the top before the meeting, and restart Notey. Change it between meetings, not during one.