Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Change the Proofing Language in Word for Mac

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Hands holding up "Hello" signs in multiple languages with text overlay "How to Change the Proofing Language in Word for Mac"

In our last tutorial, we changed the proofing language in Microsoft Word for the PC. Today, we are going to change the proofing language in Word for Mac.

The proofing language is the language Word uses to spell-check your document and offer grammar suggestions.

The bonus section at the end shows what to do if you don’t see spelling and grammar suggestions in your text.

Table of Contents

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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac. These steps also apply to Word 2021 for Mac, Word 2019 for Mac, and Word 2016 for Mac.

How to Change the Proofing Language

  1. Press Command + A to select your entire document.

(Alternatively, select the Edit menu followed by Select All from the drop-down menu.)

Important Note: Word won’t use the new proofing language to check existing text unless the text is selected before changing the language.

Text selected for proofing language change in Word for Mac 365
Figure 1. Text selected for proofing language change
  1. Select the Review tab in the ribbon.
Review tab in Word for Mac 365
Figure 2. Review tab
  1. Select the Language button.
Language button in the Review tab in Word for Mac 365
Figure 3. Language button
  1. Select the language in the Mark selected text as menu in the Language dialog box.
Mark selected text as menu in the Language dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 4. Mark selected text as menu
  1. Deselect the Do not check spelling or grammar and Detect language automatically options.
Do not check spelling or grammar and Detect language automatically options in the Language dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 5. Do not check spelling or grammar and Detect language automatically options
  1. (Optional) Select the Default button if you want to use the selected language in future documents.
Default button in the Language dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 6. Default button
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Language dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 7. OK button

Your text should now be spelling and grammar checked in the selected language.

Selected text after changing proofing language in Word for Mac 365
Figure 8. Selected text after changing proofing language

Bonus Section: How to View Spelling and Grammar Suggestions in the Text

If spelling and grammar suggestions don’t appear in your text, ensure that your preferences are set to show in-text corrections.

  1. Select the Word menu.
Word menu in Word for Mac 365
Figure 9. Word menu
  1. Select Preferences from the drop-down menu.
Preferences option in the Word menu in Word for Mac 365
Figure 10. Preferences option
  1. Select Spelling & Grammar in the Word Preferences dialog box.
Spelling and Grammar button in the Word Preferences dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 11. Spelling & Grammar button
  1. Select Check spelling as you type and Check grammar as you type.
Check spelling as you type and Check grammar as you type options in the Word Preferences dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 12. Check spelling as you type and Check grammar as you type options
  1. Select the close button.
Close button in the Word Preferences dialog box in Word for Mac 365
Figure 13. Close button

Related Resources

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