Here’s the scenario: Your Windows 10 computer is set up in English, but you’d like to use a different language. Perhaps you’re more fluent in Spanish or Greek, or maybe you learned French or Italian as a second language and would like to use Windows in one of those languages.
No problem. Windows supports a variety of languages. After you add another language, the menus, title bars, and other elements in Windows change to display that language. Your keyboard also changes, so you can type the characters of the selected language. You’re not stuck with one language, though; you can add several languages and switch back and forth among them. Here’s how.
Let’s assume Windows is already set up in English, and you want to add Spanish as an additional language. Click on the Start button > Settings > Time & language > Region & language. Then click on the link to Add a language.
From the list of languages, type or search for the name of the language you wish to add and then click on it.
Depending on the language, you may then see another screen listing different variations and countries for that language. For example, choosing Spanish shows you every country in which Spanish is spoken. Choose the country that most closely matches your preferred version of the language.
Windows searches for the necessary software components to set up and support your chosen language. To support your language, Windows typically will tell you to download a language pack, which adds all the characters and other attributes for a specific language. After the prompt, click on the name of the language you want and select the Options button to see a list of components you can install.
You’ll likely see options to download and install the language pack and handwriting recognition and add a keyboard for the language. Click on each option to install the various components.
After you’ve installed the components, click on the left arrow to return to the previous screen. Click on the language you added and then click on the “Set as default” button to make it the default language. Sign out and then sign back into Windows, or reboot your computer.
Now, nose around Windows a bit, and you should see various apps, commands, menus, title bars, and other elements displayed in the language that you chose.
Next you can enable the touch-screen keyboard for the language you selected if it’s not already set up. Right-click on the taskbar and click on the command to Show touch keyboard button. Click on the Touch keyboard button displayed in the system tray and then select the language keyboard you wish to use.
Switch Back to Engligh
Now let’s say you want to go back to English as the default. Revisit the Region & language option in the Settings screen. Click on the setting for English and click on the button to make it the default. Sign out of Windows and then sign back in. Check out the Start menu and other elements, and you’ll see that they’ve all returned to English.
Finally, to uninstall a language, return to the Region & language option in the Settings screen. Click on the language and then click on the Remove button. The language disappears.
