Netflix launches 'HERMES', an online subtitling and translation test to find better translators

To give local content a push globally, including in India, leading video streaming service Netflix on Friday introduced “HERMES”, an online subtitling and translation test and indexing system to find better translators. The tool will help audiences watch their favourite TV shows and movies in their languages. “It’s hard to believe that just five years ago, we only supported English, Spanish and Portuguese. Now we’ve surpassed 20 languages - including languages like Korean, Chinese, Arabic and Polish - and that number continues to grow,” the company said in a blog. The test consists of thousands of randomised combinations of questions so that no two tests should be the same. The rounds consist of multiple choice questions given at a specifically timed pace, designed to test the candidate’s ability to understand English, translate idiomatic phrases into their target language, identify both linguistic and technical errors and subtitle proficiently. “Since we unveiled our new ‘HERMES’ tool two weeks ago, thousands of candidates around the world have already completed the test, covering all represented languages,” the blog read.