An easy-to-follow guide to how to change the language of display and the editing/authoring/proofing language in every version that comes with Microsoft Word.
Microsoft Word is one of the most well-known and widely used software programs to create documents around the globe. If you are from a country that is not English-speaking You may wish make use of MS Word in your own language or another you prefer.
Sometimes, you might need to use accent marks or use characters from another languages in the writing. this will require you to alter your MS Word language itself. It is good to know that Microsoft Word allows you to alter the language used for editing as well as the tools for proofing and editing, as well as your user interface (display the language) and also set an alternative display language when using a different language when editing and document proofing.
In this post we’ll explain how to alter the language of display and edit and proofing language of Microsoft Word. In this article we’ll use Microsoft 365 but most of the choices are comparable to those of the older versions (2019 or 2016, 2013, and the 2010 version) as well as Office 365. Therefore, regardless of which software you’re running, this post will surely assist you to modify or change the language(s) in your Microsoft Word.
Table of Contents
Changing the Display and Help Languages
If you download Microsoft Office, it usually includes English as the default language, or the local/regional language of the region which prompted your MS Word purchase. If you wish to change the language(s) to another it is necessary to install them manually.
Display languages are the one that is visible in all menus, tabs buttons, dialog boxes, preferences and other controls in the Word application. If you’d like to use another language in lieu of the default language, take these steps
Start Microsoft Word and click the “File” tab.
In the view of the backstage Click “Options”.
The Word Options dialog window will open. Select the tab ‘Language. On the Language tab, you’ll find two sections “Office display language” and the Office writing language and proofing’.
If you’re using Office 2019 or 2016, 2013, or 2010, you will be able to select ‘Choose Editing Languages and ‘Choose Display Languages’
The ‘Office display language’ or “Choose Display Languages’ section is where you can choose your MS Word display (UI) language. There is the list of languages that are installed in this section. In the event that the particular language you’re searching for isn’t listed included in the box, you’ll need manually download and install the specific language pack.
Adding Language Packs on Office
If a particular language isn’t listed then click the ‘Install additional displays languages on Office.com button beneath the box (as as shown below).
It will display the ‘Install a Display Language’ dialog. Select the language you want to use and then click “Install”.
It will redirect you to the Microsoft site which allows you to download the Language Pack for your chosen language, as shown below. Click the Download’ button.
Download the installation file in order to set it up.
Allow the installation time to be completed, then close the program and restart Word. Sometimes, you might require a reboot of your computer to ensure smoother operation.
After that, open then the MS Word app again and navigate there: the File menu, then Options and Language. As you can see, the “Office display language’ box displays the language that is installed. Select your preferred language, and then click the “Set as Preferred or Set as Default’ choice (for Office 2019 and older versions).
When you click the “Set as preferred” or ‘Set as default button, the selected language should display ‘preferred>” at the end, as illustrated below. Then, click ‘OK’.
The Language Packs can be downloaded from the Office Webpage
Alternately, you can go to the Microsoft Office’s Language pack for Office page on which you can download the language you want to use. Microsoft Office offers over 100 additional language packs that are available to download and use for no cost.
When you’re on the Office’s language accessory pack page Scroll down to find the section titled Step 1: Install this language pack’. In this section, click the appropriate Office version tab.
Choose your choice of language from the ‘Which one do you require to learn? Drop-down.
When you’ve selected your language of choice, you’ll see the ’32-bit’ and “64-bit’ download links. In the event that your OS has a 32-bit architecture, select “Download (32-bit)’. If your system runs a 64-bit OS choose the Download (64) option.
Once the file has been downloaded Install the setup file, close and then re-open the Word application. After that, open Word Options. In the Word Options menu, choose the language pack that you have installed under the “Office display language” box and choose ‘Set as preferred’ or Set to default’. Then, click ‘OK’.
Start Word and you’ll notice that the UI has been changed to the language of MS Word.
Changing the Editing and Proofing Language
The editor’s or authoring language is the one in which you edit and write documents. The language also regulates the direction of text and its arrangement of vertical, right-to-left, as well as mixed texts. The proofing tool is a way to check for grammatical and spelling mistakes. If the editing/input or proofing languages are already on your system it is easy to change it. If not, you’ll need to install it manually first. language, and then modify it.
Start Word. Open the Word application, then click the File tab, then choose ‘Options’ for the option to display Word Options. It is also possible to access Word Options in the Word Options window by switching to the tab ‘Review’ within the Ribbon, and then selecting the ‘Language’ option and then choosing the Language Preference’ option.
Within Word Options, in Word Options, select the Language tab. There will be a “Office authoring languages and proofing or “Choose an Editing language’ section , where you can choose and add the language used for editing. If you download MS Word, the app will be automatically set to utilize the default language of the system.
The ‘Office authoring language and proofing’ box displays the installed system as well as Office languages. In case the language that you wish to change appears in the list, choose the language you want to change and then select ‘Set as preferred or Set as Default’.
Installing Additional Input Languages for Word
Follow these steps to install If a particular language is listed in the ‘Office authoring language and proofing’ box.
To add a language as an authoring one, click on the ‘Add a Language.. Click here to add a language.
Choose the language you wish to add, then click Add’.
The majority of the time even if you do include the language, you will must manually install the language or any additional tools for proofing for the Windows OS.
To install an additional input/editing or editing language on your PC Click the ‘Install extra keyboards via Windows Settings’ link below the Office editing and authoring language box.
This will bring up this Windows Settings page where you can add languages to your system. Select the ‘Add a Language button (if you are running Windows 10 or 11).
In the ‘Choose a Language to install dialog box, select one of the languages and then click ‘Next’.
On the next screen Select “Install”.
After that, you’ll be able to see the language you’ve installed on the table of available languages.
When you use your computer to type it will utilize its default language (first on this listing) for input of characters. Therefore, you must switch your input language from the newly installed language in order to use the second. This can be done via the settings application or via the taskbar.
Via Settings App
To alter the keyboard input layout, go to the ‘Time and language settings and then select the ‘Typing’ option.
Select Advanced keyboard settings.
Choose the input method you want to choose as the default.
Via Taskbar
OR You can change between input methods via the taskbar.
After installing the language, return to the File menu and select Options > Language. Within the Word Options, you’ll notice the language you have installed in the “Office authoring and proofing language’ box.
To delete the editing language, first choose the language, then click “Remove”.
Installing Proofing Tools
Sometimes, the proofing tool might not be available on Office even after you have installed an input language. When you’re running Microsoft 365, you would notice three statuses for proofing tools in each language such as ‘Proofing is available and not available for proofing, Proofing not installed’. In the case of other Office suites (like Office 2019, 2016 and so on. ) The status will show as Enabled or Not enabled’ in the column for layout of keyboards.
“Proofing not available” means the tools for proofing aren’t available for the particular language. If you see proofing available, it suggests that downloading and installing the language pack that includes tools for proofing in the language you are interested in. “Proofing installed” means that the tools for proofing are installed for the specific language, and you are able to utilize the tools.
If the tools for proofing are available but are not installed, click the “Proofing available’ button next to the language you wish to download to download the Language pack.
This will take users directly to this Language Pack download webpage on Microsoft Office website. Click the Download’ button.
Once the download is completed After that, you can install the ‘OfficeSetup.exe File, then allow the installation to finish, then close the app and restart it. Word application.
After restarting the application, navigate to Word Options. There will be a checkmark ‘Proofing installed next to the selected language. Select the language you want to set as preferred’.
Word will display an alert message to let you know that the language you have selected will be in effect the next time you open Office. The message also alerts you to modifications that could be made to your custom settings (like the font you prefer to use as your default). If you’d like to continue, select “Yes”. After that, click ‘OK’ for closing the Word Options.
Then, start your Microsoft Word, again, to alter the language used for editing and proofing.
When you have changed the Word editing language has been changed, you will need to alter the layout of your keyboard to write in the new language. The keyboard layout is a match to the characters in another language, as you type on the keyboard will automatically translate to the other language displayed in your display. In essence, the layout of your keyboard is controlled by the language and alters display characters when you type manually.
Switching Between Keyboard Layouts
If you install a brand new language to your OS it will come with a keyboard that is specific to the language, keys as well as input choices. If you have installed more than one layout for your keyboard for various languages, you are able to change between the keyboard languages by using the bar for languages.
If you switch or change the language of your keyboard and the layout of your keyboard shifts to the keyboard that corresponds to the specific language. For example, if you write something in English and you wish to add content in another language, you can swiftly switch keyboard layouts so that you can write in various languages.
Here’s what you must do to switch the layout of your keyboard to the language of your choice.
If you have more than one layout The language bar (language abbreviation) will automatically appear in the System Tray or the ‘Notification Area’. To alter the layout of your keyboard select the icon for language (ENG is the abbreviation for English keyboard) and choose the language you wish to select from the keyboards available.
If you are running Windows 10 or 11, you can use Windows+Spacebar to change layouts. The abbreviation for language represents the layout of the keyboard that is active on the system.
You can now edit and write Word documents in a different language.
Proofreading in Different Languages
MS Word also allows you to edit or write in one language, and then proofread texts in another. To proofread text in a different language, click the tab ‘Review and select the language option, and then click on the ‘Set Proofing Languages.. Option.
Select the desired language from Then, select the language from Language dialog box, and then select ‘OK’. There are also the option of ignoring spelling and grammar errors and detect the language automatically, or choose as the language of default.
For example, if you wish to use the word or phrase in a different language , without being grammatically incorrect it is best to change the language used to proofread the specific phrase or word.
To accomplish this, first select the phrase or word, then click the tab ‘Review’, choose ‘Language’, and then select the ‘Set Proofing Languages.. Option. Select one of the languages and select “OK”. Word will not consider grammar and spelling on the highlighted choice.
That’s it, folks! You are now able to easily switch both the display as well as editing and proofreading languages of the desktop of MS Word to any language(s) you prefer.