Setting the Language

PowerPoint performs spell check using the native language for your copy of Word. For example, if you bought your copy in the United States, then English (U.S.) is the default language. It is important that you select the correct country as well as the correct language because some countries have different spellings for the same language than others. For example, in the United Kingdom, "s" substitutes for the American "z" in words like realize/realise. The Language setting is also used by some of the research tools, which are covered later in this chapter.

To mark a passage of text as a certain language (and country if applicable), follow these steps:

1. Select the text that you want to mark. To mark text on more than one slide, select the text from the Outline pane.

2. On the Review tab, click Language. The Language dialog box opens.

3. Select the language and country from the list, as shown in Figure 8.7.

   
   Figure 8.7: Select a language for the text.

4. (Optional) To set a certain language as the default, select it and click Default; then click Yes to confirm.

5. Click OK.