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Windows 10: How to Change Display Language or Keyboard Language

We show you how to use the Windows 10 change language pack feature to adjust your keyboard language, speech recognition, display language, and more.

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is an American company, but that doesn't mean its OS is English-only. The change language pack setting lets you choose between a total of 38 dialects to meet your preferences. You can also change keyboard language and speech recognition for a full-fat experience.

Occasionally, something goes wrong and users notice that they have the wrong language in Windows 10. This can be due to incorrect configuration during setup, a pesky bug, or a prankster friend.

We're going to show you exactly how to change a language pack or set it back to the default. First, you should know that the keyboard language, speech language, and voice language settings are independent. This means you can have a German keyboard language but an English OS, for example, but it also takes a bit longer to get everything configured. Let's start with how to change Windows 10's language preferences:

How to Change Language Preferences in Windows 10

Time needed: 1 minute

The Windows 10 change language functionality lets you quickly order them by preference in a few clicks.

  1. Open Language and Keyboard Settings


    You can open settings with “Windows + I”. Search for language and keyboard and click on the “Edit language and keyboard options” setting.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Language and keyboard options

  2. Arrange your preferred languages


    You may already have the correct language pack installed on your system. Windows will now show you your “Preferred Languages”, under which you can see a list and move your native tongue to the top with the arrow icons.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Language and keyboard options - Preferred languages

  3. Check the language's possible uses


    If your language is behaving unexpectedly, you can also check this window to see what it supports. The icons next to language signify whether it can be used for keyboard, speed, handwriting, text-to-speech, and more.

How to Install a New Language in Windows 10

Time needed: 2 minutes

To save space, Windows 10 doesn't keep all languages in its library by default. As a result, you may have to download and install your language pack via the settings menu.

  1. Open the add language dialog


    In the previously mentioned language options, press the plus next to “Add a preferred language”.

  2. Select your language


    Windows will now return a long list of all its languages. You can search for yours via the bar at the top and select the regional or national version. Again, the icons signify which aspects of the OS it can be used for. Click “Next”.

    Windows 10 - Install language - Select

  3. Change your Windows 10 language features


    The Windows 10 change language settings will now let you choose what features you wish to install for that dialect. Tick the relevant boxes and hit “Install”. Your language will then be added to order as you wish.

    Windows 10 - Install language - Select language features

How to Change Display Language For Your Account

Time needed: 1 minute

  1. Select the relevant Windows 10 language pack in the drop down


    Now that the language pack is installed, you can change the display language via the drop-down menu at the top of the settings page.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Regin and Language

How to Change the Global Display Language

Time needed: 2 minutes

Changing the Windows 10 language pack on your account is useful, but sometimes you want to toggle it for all accounts. This requires a bit more fiddling.

  1. Open the classic control panel


    Press Start and type “Control Panel” to search for the classic version. Click the relevant entry to open it.

    Windows 10 - Open Control Panel

  2. Search for region settings


    In the top-right corner, type “Region” in the search bar. Then, click the heading to get to the settings page.

    Windows 10 - Region

  3. Open the copy settings window


    Switch to the “Administrative” tab and click “Copy settings…” approve any administrator dialogs that appear.

    Windows 10 - Region - Administrative

  4. Copy your language settings to other users


    You'll now be presented with a list of hour current languages for various aspects of the OS and two tick boxes. Choose “Welcome screen and system accounts” and “New user accounts” depending on your preferences.

How to Change Keyboard Language in Windows 10

Time needed: 1 minute

Now that your options are set up, you can change your keyboard language in Windows 10.

  1. Press the language button in the taskbar


    Now that your system has multiple languages, letters representing the active one will show next to the clock in the taskbar. Click it or press “Windows + Space” to quickly switch.

    Windows 10 - Change keyboard language

Change Narrator Language in Windows 10

Time needed: 1 minute

Narrator is a feature that isn't utilized by most people, but is a godsend for those who need it. You can change the Windows 10 narrator language independently to the other settings.

  1. Open Narrator voice settings


    Press “Windows + I” to open settings and search for “Narrator”. Select “Change Narrator voice” from the search dropdown.

    Windows 10 Turn Narrator on or off

  2. Choose a voice


    Under the “Choose a voice” dropdown, select one with your language next to it in parentheses. While you're there, you can adjust the speed and pitch to sound more natural.

    Windows 10 - Turn Narrator on or off - Select voice

How to Adjust Speech Recognition Language

Time needed: 1 minute

The OS now speaks in your language, but what about when you want to talk to it back? Windows 10 lets you change speech recognition language in much the same way.

  1. Open speech recognition settings


    Press “Windows + I” to open settings and search for “Narrator”. Select “Turn on Speech Recognition” from the search dropdown.

    Windows 10 - Speech recognition

  2. Select your speech language


    Under “Choose the language you want to speak with your device”, select the relevant language from the dropdown.

Last Updated on May 8, 2020 10:07 am CEST by Ryan Maskell

Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.
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