How to Change the Dictation Language on Any Device

To change the dictation language, add the language in the place your device keeps it, then switch with the key or menu the device gives you. The place differs by platform. On a Mac it is Keyboard settings. On an iPhone or iPad it comes with the keyboards you add. On Windows it follows the input language. On Android it is set in Gboard. In Google Docs and Microsoft Word you choose the language inside the app. Each set of steps says which vendor page it follows and when we checked it, and each section links to our full guide for that platform.

The dictation language is its own setting, separate from the display language on most devices

On most devices, the language you dictate in is not the language your screen shows. Changing the display language does not add a dictation language. On a Mac, dictation has its own Languages list in Keyboard settings. On Windows, voice typing can use a language that is different from the one chosen for Windows ¹. The exception is Chromebook, where speech stops working if the spoken language does not match the device language ².

The table shows where each platform keeps the setting, and what it follows.

Each row is explained in the section that follows. The main practical rule is simple: add the language before you need it, because a language that is not on the list cannot be used for dictation until you add it.

On a Mac, dictation languages are added and switched in Keyboard settings

On a Mac, you add dictation languages in Keyboard settings. You can keep several languages set up and switch between them while you dictate. The steps below match Apple's current Mac Help page for macOS, which we checked on October 17, 2026.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down ³.
2. Under Dictation, click Edit next to Languages, then select a language and region ⁴.
3. If you have more than one dictation language set up, you can switch while you dictate. Click the language label next to the cursor, or press the Globe key and choose a language ⁵. The Globe key is the key on Apple keyboards that also controls the globe and emoji functions.

Apple describes switching between the languages you have set up as needed ⁶. Its page does not cover a sentence that mixes two languages, so if you mix languages in the same sentence, read the guide on multilingual dictation before you rely on the Mac for it.

The Mac list is long. Apple lists 63 language and regional variants for Dictation on the Mac ⁷. Apple says Dictation is not available in all languages or regions, and that features may vary ⁸. Look for your language and region in the list you see in Keyboard settings. Languages on the on-device list need a download of speech models ⁹.

For the full Mac list and how to switch in each app, read Apple Dictation languages on Mac and the Mac dictation shortcut guide. If you are asked how to switch quickly, the answer is in the quick switching question.

On iPhone and iPad, each keyboard language you add brings its dictation language

On an iPhone, the dictation language follows the keyboard. When you add a keyboard for another language, you can dictate in that language too ¹⁰.

To add a keyboard on an iPhone, Apple's steps are these.

1. Go to Settings, tap General, then tap Keyboard. Tap Keyboards, then tap Add New Keyboard and choose a keyboard from the list ¹¹.
2. Adding a keyboard for a different language also adds that language to Preferred Languages ¹². Preferred Languages does something different: it decides how apps and websites display text ¹³. Keep that in mind when a menu shows a language you did not expect.
3. To switch, Apple's keyboard switching page says to touch and hold the Globe key to show all your enabled keyboards ¹⁴.

If you dictate in two languages often, a keyboard that switches between them can save steps. The on-device list on iPhone has 48 language and regional variants ¹⁵, so check that your language is among them before you add it.

On an iPad, the steps differ slightly. Go to Settings, tap General, then tap Keyboard, and turn on Enable Dictation ¹⁶.

On Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, the language is set for Siri. Apple's guide says that to change the language Siri uses, you go to Settings, tap General, then select Siri and choose Language ¹⁷. Apple's Apple TV article covers Siri and does not describe a separate dictation language, so do not expect a dictation language apart from the Siri language. The full answer is in the question on Apple TV.

For the iPhone and Android side of this topic, read dictation languages on iPhone and Android and dictation on iPad and Android tablets.

On Windows, voice typing follows the input language, which you add in Time & language

On Windows 11, voice typing uses the input language you are typing with. You add a voice typing language under Time & language ¹⁸, and you switch by changing the input language. Microsoft's steps for adding a language say to find Preferred languages in the list and select Add a language ¹⁹.

1. Open Settings, select Time & language, then Language & region. In the list, find Preferred languages, select Add a language, and choose the language you want to dictate in.
2. To switch, change the input language you type with. Microsoft says you switch voice typing languages by changing the input language you use ²⁰. If voice typing is not available in your language, Microsoft says to press the Windows logo key + Spacebar and choose one of your available languages ²¹.

Windows 11 lists 46 languages and locales that support voice typing ²². Six of them are English locales: Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States ²³.

If the language you chose is not supported, Windows shows the message "Voice typing isn't available in the current language" ²⁴.

For Windows 10 and the older Windows Speech Recognition, the steps are different. Read dictation languages on Windows and the Windows voice typing guide.

On Android, Gboard voice typing uses the languages added to the keyboard

On Android, Gboard handles voice typing in any app you can type with. The languages you can dictate in are the languages you turn on in Gboard. To start, tap a text field, tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard, and speak when you see "Speak now" ²⁵.

To add a language, open the Gboard settings, tap Languages, then Add keyboard, and turn on the language you want ²⁶. To switch, tap the abbreviation for your default language at the bottom left of the voice toolbar and select a language ²⁷. Google's help on typing in a different language has the full steps.

On Samsung Galaxy phones, Samsung Keyboard has its own Voice Input on the keyboard toolbar ²⁸, and you open its settings from the Settings icon on that toolbar ²⁹. For the full Android steps, read voice typing on Android and Samsung talk to text.

In Google Docs and Microsoft Word, you choose the language inside the app

In these apps the language comes from the document or the browser, not from your device settings. Word uses the document language by default. Google Docs voice typing runs in the browser you open the document in.

Google Docs. Open a document in a supported browser, then choose Tools and Voice typing. A microphone box appears, and you click the microphone to speak ³⁰. Google says voice typing works with the latest versions of Chrome, Edge and Safari, and that your web browser controls the speech-to-text service ³¹. The list of supported languages and accents is on Google's Voice typing help page. Check that list there before you switch.

Microsoft Word. Dictate is set to your document language by default, so you change the language only when you need another one ³². Microsoft lists 15 main supported languages and locales, from Chinese (China) to Spanish (Mexico), with a separate list of preview languages ³³. Read dictate in Word for the full steps.

Chromebook. On a Chromebook, the rule is stricter. Speech will not work if the spoken language does not match the device language ². Change the device language first, then dictate. The steps are in the Chromebook dictation guide.

Choose the exact regional variant you speak, not just the language

A language often appears several times in a dictation list, once for each region. Pick the variant closest to the way you speak, because the list treats each region as its own entry. Apple's iOS and iPadOS list shows English as separate entries for Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia and Ireland, for example ³⁴.

When Dictation on a Mac does not behave as you expect, check the language and region first, and then the keyboard shortcut you use to start it. For how regional accents affect recognition, read speech recognition and accents.

When a language is missing from the list, the device does not support it yet

If your language is not in the list, the built-in dictation on that device does not support it. Adding a keyboard or changing a setting will not create support that the device does not have. Apple says Dictation on iPhone may not be available in all languages or in all countries or regions, and that features may vary ³⁵. The phrase on a Windows device is "Voice typing isn't available in the current language" ²⁴, and the question on that message explains the fixes.

The lists differ in size, and the counts are not directly comparable, because each company counts variants in its own way. The chart shows the figures cited above.

Counts differ in what they include. Apple's Mac figure counts variants, Windows 11 counts languages and locales, and the Word figure counts only the main list and not the preview languages. Use the lists, not the totals, to decide whether your language is there.

Whatever device you use, a quick test saves time. Open a plain note or message, switch to the language, and dictate one short sentence with a name in it. If the words come out in the right script and with the spellings you expect, the setting works. If they come out in another language or as nonsense, go back to the list and confirm that you picked the right language and region, not just the right language. Then test the words you use most often, such as names of people and places, because those are where recognition usually fails first.

Check the language label before you speak, rather than after the words have already appeared, because a wrong language is easier to catch before you start.

If your language is missing, you have three realistic options.

First, check whether a different platform supports it. Lists differ between vendors. Microsoft's Azure Speech table includes Bengali (India), a locale that Windows voice typing does not offer ³⁶, so a language missing on one platform may appear on another. Compare the lists in the dictation languages guide before you switch hardware or accounts.

Second, use a dedicated app. Some apps support languages that the built-in list does not, and they are a different kind of tool with their own limits. Yap, which we make, is one such app for Mac and Windows, so check its own language list before you rely on it. Our overview of dictation software compares the options by need. Some models that transcribe many languages are covered in Whisper supported languages.

Third, dictate in a language you can use and translate afterwards. This is a second step with its own errors, and it is covered in the guide on speech to text with translation. It does not give you dictation in the missing language, so use it only if the text in your own language is enough.

The full answer to dictating in an unsupported language is in the question on unsupported languages. For the wider picture of which languages each tool supports, start with the overview of dictation languages, or the overview of dictation in other languages.