language preference setup

Question

Hiya, I hope you are well. I am reaching out to ask if you could advise on how to change the language to English UK on Microsoft Word permanently, I googled and it says I can click the language on the tool bar and select English UK but it never works and it keeps changing back to English US within seconds. I am really out of sorts here, wish I could have your expertise here. Thanks.

Answer 1

The only pertinent point in the lengthy monologue from Narendra is the one pertaining to setting the Language attribute throughout the entirety of an existing document. The remainder may be valid in Word for Windows but do not work in Word for Mac.

However, Language is a character level property conceptually similar to Bold, Italic, etc. so it's entirely possible that more than one Language may be used appropriately in any given document. In that case the text bearing the incorrect Language has to be selected in order to apply the correct one. I have no idea what it says but what you've written only applies the selected Language attribute at the spot where those steps are taken.

Note that Language is best controlled by the use of Styles.

For the default Language in new documents you create:

1. Launch Word
2. Go to Tools> Language to select the preferred Language
3. Click the Default button
4. Confirm when prompted.

There is no need to open the Normal.dotm template — In fact, most knowledgeable users recommend not doing so. Almost all appropriate changes to the template can be made from the UI within the program.

Answer 2

Please test your proposed solutions in Word for Mac before posting them in response to Mac issues. If you can't verify on a Mac, don't respond.

Answer 3

Dear Leijun,

Good day! Thank you for contacting the Microsoft Community. We are here to assist you.

It appears you may have already taken some steps, but I wanted to clarify that spelling, grammar, and language settings in Word are often misunderstood. The corrections you have implemented will only apply to new documents you create in Word, and they do not affect existing documents.

The issue you may encountering is that the text in your document is formatted in a language other than English (UK). To resolve this quickly, please select the text, navigate to Tools > Language, and choose English (UK). You should notice an immediate difference in the identification of misspelled words.

However, let's double-check a few things to ensure everything is set up properly:

1. Editing Languages: Make sure you've added English (United Kingdom) under Choose Editing Languages and set it as default.
2. Display and Help Languages: Ensure English (United Kingdom) is set as the default for both display and help languages.
3. Proofing Language: In a new document, go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language, select English (United Kingdom), and click Set as Default.

If these steps are correct and the issue persists, it might be due to specific document settings or templates. Here are a few additional tips:

• Existing Documents: For existing documents, select all text (Ctrl+A), then go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language, and choose English (United Kingdom).
• Normal Template: Sometimes, the default template (Normal.dotm) might be set to a different language. You can modify this template by opening it directly, changing the language settings, and saving it.

If you've tried all these steps and it still reverts to English (US), there might be a deeper issue with your Word installation or user profile settings. In that case, you might want to try repairing your Office installation or contacting Microsoft Support for further assistance.

---

Kindly note that the above suggestion is based on general information. Please try above and provide me updated information by posting back in same thread so I can share you more tailored information with you.

I hope you are staying safe and well! Have a great day and take care! 😊 

Sincerely, 

Naren | Microsoft Community Moderator