Official documentation
Language and voice support for the Speech service (Microsoft Learn)
Microsoft, Microsoft Learn, 2026
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- Microsoft's table of locales for speech to text in Azure Speech, the cloud service that Microsoft says powers Windows voice typing. It lists each locale, such as Bengali (India) and Urdu (India), with the features it supports.
- How much weight it carries
- Official, updated by Microsoft. It describes what the developer service accepts, not what Windows voice typing offers in its own menu, which is a separate list. A locale in this table does not mean Windows voice typing supports that language.
Facts taken from this source
- Microsoft's Azure Speech table of speech to text locales lists separate Arabic locales for Egypt (ar-EG) and Morocco (ar-MA).
“ar-EG Arabic (Egypt) ✅ ar-IL Arabic (Israel) ✅ ar-IQ Arabic (Iraq) ✅ ar-JO Arabic (Jordan) ✅ ar-KW Arabic (Kuwait) ✅ ar-LB Arabic (Lebanon) ✅ ar-LY Arabic (Libya) ✅ ar-MA Arabic (Morocco) ✅” (Speech to text locale table, Arabic rows)
- Microsoft's Azure Speech table of speech to text locales includes Bengali (India), a locale that Windows voice typing does not offer.
“bn-IN Bengali (India) ✅ ✅ bs-BA Bosnian (Bosnia and Herzegovina)” (Speech to text locales table)
- Microsoft's Azure Speech table of speech to text locales includes Bengali (India) and Urdu (India). Windows voice typing offers neither in its own language list.
“bn-IN Bengali (India) ✅ ✅ bs-BA Bosnian (Bosnia and Herzegovina)... ur-IN Urdu (India) ✅ uz-UZ Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)” (Speech to text locales table)
- Microsoft's Azure Speech table of speech to text locales includes Hebrew (Israel), with the locale code he-IL.
“he-IL Hebrew (Israel)” (Speech to text locale table)
- Microsoft's Azure Speech table of speech to text locales includes Persian (Iran), with the locale code fa-IR.
“fa-IR Persian (Iran)” (Speech to text locale table)
- Microsoft's Azure Speech table of speech to text locales includes Urdu (India), a locale that Windows voice typing does not offer.
“ur-IN Urdu (India) ✅ uz-UZ Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)” (Speech to text locales table)
Pages that rest on this source
- Arabic Speech to Text and Right-to-Left DictationGuide
- Does speech to text understand Arabic dialects?Question
- How do you transcribe Arabic or Hebrew audio to text?Question
- What is the best Arabic speech to text API?Question
- LocaleGlossary
- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)Glossary
- How to Change the Dictation Language on Any DeviceGuide
- How can you dictate in a language your device does not support?Question
- How do you voice type in Bangla and get English text?Question
- Dictation Languages: What Each App and Device SupportsGuide
- Hindi Voice Typing and Speech to TextGuide
- Can you voice type in Bangla, Urdu or Arabic on Windows?Question
- How do you do Hindi voice typing on a computer?Question
- How do you transcribe Tamil, Urdu, Bengali or other South Asian audio?Question
- How do you voice type in Urdu?Question
- Which speech to text API works best for Indian languages?Question
- Why does it say dictation is not available in the current language?Question
- How do you voice type in Urdu and get English text?Question