How To Change The Language Setting On Microsoft Word 2007

This commodity tells yous how to change the linguistic communication of your document in Discussion 2007, 2010 or 2022.

Why would I want to change the language of my Word document?

The language that is gear up for your Discussion document sets the language in which the spelling and grammar checks work. If yous are working, say, at a university that uses Britain English, and you utilise a version of Word that'southward set for United states English, when you run a spell check (or if you ask Word to highlight errors every bit you go forth), the spelling will default to American English. You will submit your document in the incorrect version of the linguistic communication. This tin can actually affair if you're instructed to use one particular version, and will thing more as you move into submitting manufactures for journals (which may specify either version of English language) or working for a company that uses British or American spelling as standard.

If you're working in the field of localisation, or even just, as I used to, writing documents for the US and UK markets simultaneously, making sure that the linguistic communication set for your certificate matches the language you're working in means that y'all tin can run final checks and make sure that you're using the appropriate spelling.

If your document has come from another country which uses a language other than English, for example if you're working on a document prepared by a translator working out of their own linguistic communication, you really need to change the language to English before you start editing it, or when you lot run a concluding spell bank check, every word volition be highlighted and confusion will ensue.

And then it'southward important to make certain that the linguistic communication of your document matches the linguistic communication in which you wish to piece of work. I receive many documents to proofread which are set for US English but are for a student at a U.k. university – a quick set of actions is all that it takes, but I fearfulness that students will be penalised if they use the inappropriate spellings for the context.

How exercise I view and change the language in my document?

In Word, the language that is set for your document should appear in the lower status bar of your document:

1 language on status bar

From here, you lot can easily change the language of selected text or the whole certificate (see below). But first we'll look at how to add this useful display if it's not showing.

How exercise I make the linguistic communication display on my status bar?

If the language isn't showing on your condition bar and you want to see it there, right-click anywhere on the lower condition bar. A menu should appear with lots of options to tick. Any particular that is ticked will appear on the status bar – this is also useful if you want to view your discussion count there.

2 add language on status bar

Click on Language or tick the tick-box next to it, and your language will appear for ever more in the bottom status bar.

This works exactly the same for Word 2007, 2010 and 2022.

How practice I change the language using the condition bar display?

Outset yous need to highlight the text whose language you desire to change.

You might want to highlight parts of the document (for case if it's a dual translation in ii languages and you lot just want to ready one to UK English, or information technology's a localisation and you just want to alter ane column of a two-column original and target language tabular array), keeping the command key pressed down if you want to select several individual blocks of text.

If you want to modify the language of the whole document, get to the Home tab and choose Select to the very right of the tab, so Select All:

3 select text

(or you might press the Select All button on your Quick Access Toolbar if yous've added it at that place (marked with an arrow on the screenshot above) – come across my commodity on Adding Buttons to the QAT if you need to know how to do that).

Once you've highlighted the text for which yous want to set the linguistic communication, click on the linguistic communication display in the bottom status bar and choose your linguistic communication:

4 select language

Notation: Do not check spelling or grammar has a blue foursquare next to it. Click in this foursquare twice so that commencement a tick, then nothing, appears in the foursquare.

Now click on OK. Your linguistic communication will accept changed to the language yous selected.

This works exactly the same for Discussion 2007, 2010 and 2022.

How do I change the linguistic communication using the menus in the ribbon?

If yous don't cull to brandish the language in the lower status bar, you can access information technology via the menus in the ribbon at the top of the screen instead. This works slightly differently in Word 2007, 2010 and 2022, so I'll show y'all screenshots of all 3.

In Word 2007, cull the Review tab and and then Set Language in the Proofing section:

5 menus 2007

In Word 2010, cull the Review tab, and then the Language button in the Language section, and click Set Proofing Language:

5 menus 2010

In Word 2022, again, choose the Review tab, Linguistic communication section, Language push button and Set Proofing Language:

5 menus 2022

For Give-and-take 2007, 2010 and 2022, once you've clicked on the relevant button, you will see the dialogue box for irresolute the language: select your language, remembering to click the blue foursquare next to Do not check spelling and grammar one time, twice, so there's a tick then naught:

7 select language

How do I make the language appear in the lower status bar of my document?

Yous may find yourself unable to display the language in the lower status bar, however much you right click and tell Discussion to display it. Please popular over to this article if you're having this trouble, where you will notice screen prints that will walk you through the procedure.

How do I change the language in my comments balloons?

You may find that the linguistic communication in your comments balloons remains the original linguistic communication of the document. If yous need to change the language in your comments, see this article.

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In this commodity, I've shown you how to change the linguistic communication of your Give-and-take document. If you have institute this useful, please leave a comment and click on the sharing buttons below. Cheers!

This is part of my series on how to avoid time-consuming "short cuts" and use Word in the correct way to maximise your time and improve the look of your documents.