Presenting to an audience from another country is challenging because subtle jokes or even business references often don’t translate across cultures. You would make matters worse if you misspell a word while attempting to use another country’s native language. Fortunately, you can designate text as a language other than your system’s default and spell check it fast.

To assign a non-default language to specific text:

1. In PowerPoint, select the desired text by highlighting it.
2. Select Tools | Language to open the Language dialog box.
3. Highlight a language in the Mark Selected Text As list box, as shown in Figure A, and click OK. Important: The list box includes many languages that aren’t supported.
4. Repeat for each text box, as needed.

To spell check selected text:

1. Confirm that you successfully changed the language selection for each text box by selecting it and reviewing the language listing on the toolbar. (In 2004/2007, the language isn’t listed in the toolbar).
2. Select Tools | Spelling to display the Spelling dialog box.
3. Spell check as usual. All text boxes are checked in the designated language.

Adapt for PowerPoint 2007
To assign a non-default language to your selected text, go to the Review ribbon and click the Language button to display the Language dialog box. In the same area, you’ll also find the Spelling button you’ll need to spell check your presentation text.

Filed under: Microsoft Office Tutor