Making a PowerPoint presentation in another language? You have the option of changing the text language (which is used for spelling corrections) or the interface language (used for menus). This is how.
The steps below are applicable to all current versions of Microsoft PowerPoint. This includes the PowerPoint version that comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
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How to Change Text Language in PowerPoint
By default, PowerPoint will use the same language as your Office installation’s default language to evaluate the content and grammar of your presentation. You may, however, change the text language used for any text you put into PowerPoint.
Open your PowerPoint presentation and select any text you’ve included. Then, on the ribbon bar, go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language.
Select a language from the options provided in the “Language” box and hit “OK” to preserve your selection.
This language will now be used to examine the content for spelling and grammatical mistakes. If you wish to change back at any time, simply repeat these steps and choose your default language instead.
Change PowerPoint’s Default Text and Interface Language
PowerPoint selects the wording for menus and buttons based on your chosen locale language (such as US English). This language is also used to establish the default proofreading language for any text you input.
If you’re in a place where numerous languages are spoken, you might wish to flip between them. If you live in the United States, for example, you might want to make Spanish your default proofreading language for presentations.
This will imply that any content you input utilizes this language—you won’t need to alter it manually. Similarly, you may wish to adjust the language of your interface to fit.
In PowerPoint’s settings menu, you may modify both of these choices to utilize an alternate language. To begin, open PowerPoint and go to File > Options.
Select “Language” on the left side of the “PowerPoint Options” box.
Choose a new language in the “Office Display Language” area on the right and click the “Set As Preferred” button.
The language used for menus and buttons will be determined by this.
Next, in the “Office Authoring Languages And Proofing” section, select a new proofing language. To set it the default proofreading language for PowerPoint in the future, click “Set As Preferred.”
The Installation of a New Language Pack
If you don’t see a language that you wish to use as your interface or proofreading language, you must first install the language pack for it.
In PowerPoint, go to File > Options > Language and click one of the “Add A Language” icons.
Next, select the language you want to use from the pop-up list and press the “Install” button.
It will take a few minutes for Microsoft Office to download the updated language pack. If prompted, click “OK” to confirm and begin the installation.
After installing the language pack, pick it from the list in the “Office Display Language” or “Office Authoring Languages And Proofing” sections. To make it your preferred interface or proofreading language, click “Set As Preferred.”
When you’re finished, click “OK” to preserve your selection. To show the new language, PowerPoint will leave and reload.
