Office Settings & Configuration

How to Fix PowerPoint Spell Check Using the Wrong Language

Rana Garcia Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to correct the proofing language in PowerPoint because the spell checker is highlighting text using the wrong language dictionary.

How to Fix PowerPoint Spell Check Using the Wrong Language

Product: Microsoft PowerPoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Reviewing and checking spelling in a presentation containing single or multiple languages.
Observed behavior: PowerPoint uses an incorrect language dictionary for spell checking, causing valid words to be marked as misspelled, and fails to automatically detect the correct language.

Before you start

Before modifying your language settings, ensure that you have the correct language pack installed for Office and highlight the exact text that is being incorrectly spell-checked.

Solution 1Recommended

Set Proofing Language for Selected Text

Manually setting the proofing language for specific text boxes ensures the spell checker uses the correct dictionary and ignores incorrect automatic detection.

PowerPoint often struggles to automatically detect multiple languages in a single presentation. The most reliable way to fix incorrect spell check markings is to assign the language directly to the affected text.

Select the affected text

Highlight the specific text, paragraph, or text box that PowerPoint is spell-checking in the wrong language.

Open the Language settings

Navigate to the Review tab on the ribbon, click on Language, and then select Set Proofing Language from the drop-down menu.

Choose the correct language

Scroll through the list and select English (or your desired language). Ensure that the 'Do not check spelling or grammar' checkbox is cleared, then click OK.

Pro Tip: If your presentation contains multiple languages, you must repeat this process to assign the correct proofing language to each specific text range.

Solution 2

Update Language Settings in Slide Master

Applying language changes directly to the Slide Master ensures that any new slides you add will inherit the correct proofing language by default.

Seamless Presentation Editing

Easily Manage Presentation Languages with WPS Office

WPS Presentation provides intuitive spell check and language settings. You can seamlessly switch dictionaries and ensure your slides are flawlessly proofread without the frustration of incorrect language detection.

1. Open your presentation: Launch WPS Office and open your presentation file.
2. Select the text: Highlight the text or text box you want to spell-check.
3. Access the Spell Check tool: Go to the Review tab on the top ribbon and click the Spell Check button.
4. Set the proofing language: Click Set Language from the options, choose English or your preferred language, and apply it to the selected text.

Highly compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) file formatsIntuitive multi-language spell check capabilitiesFree, lightweight, and fast presentation editorBuilt-in robust proofing tools for error-free slides

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does PowerPoint think my English text is in another language?

PowerPoint's language detection is heavily influenced by your computer's active keyboard layout at the time the text was typed, or by the default authoring language set in Office. If you typed with a different keyboard layout active, PowerPoint tags that text with the corresponding language.

How do I change the default authoring language for all Office apps?

You can change this by going to File > Options > Language in PowerPoint. Under the 'Office authoring languages and proofing' section, select your preferred language and click 'Set as Preferred'.

What does the 'Do not check spelling or grammar' option do?

When this checkbox is enabled in the Language settings, PowerPoint deliberately skips the selected text during a spell check. Clearing this checkbox ensures the proofing tools actively scan your text for errors.

Can PowerPoint automatically detect multiple languages on the same slide?

PowerPoint has an 'Detect language automatically' feature, but it is often unreliable for short phrases or mixed languages within the same text box. It is highly recommended to manually set the proofing language for different text ranges.

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