diff --git a/tools/transcription_tools.py b/tools/transcription_tools.py
index d8d0f3643..d473172a3 100644
--- a/tools/transcription_tools.py
+++ b/tools/transcription_tools.py
@@ -295,7 +295,13 @@ def _transcribe_local(file_path: str, model_name: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
             _local_model = WhisperModel(model_name, device="auto", compute_type="auto")
             _local_model_name = model_name
 
-        segments, info = _local_model.transcribe(file_path, beam_size=5)
+        # Allow forcing the language via env var (e.g. HERMES_LOCAL_STT_LANGUAGE=en)
+        _forced_lang = os.getenv(LOCAL_STT_LANGUAGE_ENV, DEFAULT_LOCAL_STT_LANGUAGE)
+        transcribe_kwargs = {"beam_size": 5}
+        if _forced_lang:
+            transcribe_kwargs["language"] = _forced_lang
+
+        segments, info = _local_model.transcribe(file_path, **transcribe_kwargs)
         transcript = " ".join(segment.text.strip() for segment in segments)
 
         logger.info(