If you’ve purchased a new computer that came with Office in a different language than your preferred language, you may have difficulty using it. Most English speakers would have trouble using a version of Office in another language, but native speakers of other languages may feel just as out of place with a English copy of Office.
Even if you prefer to use Office with the interface language you already have, you may want to use the proofing tools for another language. Multilingual users often type or edit text in multiple languages, and you’ll often want to have Office work the same with all the languages. Here we have English spelling and grammar check running, but any Thai text we enter will not be checked for correct spelling and grammar. We’ll need to install a language pack to get spelling checking in both languages.
You can see all of your installed interface and proofing languages from the Office Language Preferences. This will be listed under the Office Tools in your start menu.
This will show the editing and display languages you have enabled. If you have an editing language installed but don’t have the proofing tools for it, you’ll see a link that will direct you to the Office website where you can directly purchase an Office language pack.
Unfortunately, extra Office interface and proofing languages are not free ($24.95), but the good thing is they are easy to install. Let’s look at how it works.
Install Your Language Pack
Run the Setup program in your Language pack download or disk as normal.
When the installer opens, select which product to add a language pack for. We want to install the language pack in Office 2010, but you can also use the same language pack to install a new language for Microsoft Project or Visio.
Accept the license agreement, and then click Continue.
Click Install Now to install the Language pack. Make sure all of your Office applications such as Word, OneNote, and Outlook are closed before you begin the installation.
The installation may take a few minutes, so be patient.
Your new proofing language will automatically be enabled, and if your Office UI was in a different language than your Windows default, it will automatically switch to the new language as well. Now it should be easier to read in your native language!
You’ll also now notice that you have the proofing tools installed for your new language as well.
Change Office Display and Help Language
If you’d like to change your Office user interface language back to the default or to the new one you just installed, open the Languages Preferences window as before. Near the bottom, select the language you want under Choose Display and Help Languages, and click the up arrow to move it to the top of the list. Click Ok at the bottom when you’re done.
You’ll see a prompt reminding you to close all Office apps. Next time you open them, you’ll see the user interface language of your choice. Feel free to switch it out as you need.
Conclusion
Microsoft Office is one of the most essential applications for business and education, and now you can use Office with all the languages you need. Or, if you just want to practice using a language you’re learning, this could be a neat way to force you to use it every day.
Download Office 2010 Language Packs
