Spell check not identifying American English words as spelling mistakes

Question

I have set my language on Microsoft Word to English (New Zelaand), yet it fails to idenfity words spelt in Amercian English as spelling errors.

I have tried to troubleshoot the issue using Copilot but I havent had any luck. I can confirm these words aren't in my custom dictionary.

Answer 1

While this doesn't resolve the issue of Copilot not using my preferred language in the first place, I have found a quick fix is to include an instruction in the prompt to use the UK/Australian language spelling, and change relevant uses of 'z' to 's'.

Answer 2

Hi,

I suggest you check the Windows language setting, please go to Contral Panel- Region and check the Location tab, if it is English(US) try to change it.

I also suggest you refer to this similar thread and try the method of MVP:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/microsoft-word-spellcheck-defaulting-to-us-english/ccfea454-7363-40d0-8045-486040ee83b5

Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

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Answer 3

I really doubt that Copilot understands how the spell checker works in Word. I am assuming you are using the desktop application in Windows.

References:

• http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/MasterSpellCheck.htm
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word-mso_win10-msoversion_other/proofing-language-keeps-changing-solutions-how-can/c6483d0c-6fe3-41bf-8464-25535d3ec15b?tm=1579788821357

The second link discusses causes and solutions for this situation and likely covers your problem.

Try selecting all text in your document and clicking on the language in the Status Bar at the bottom of the page. Make sure it is set for English NZ.

If the language in Windows is not set for English NZ new documents will likely default to the language set in Windows regardless of your settings in Word.

See my response here for some more ideas on a workaround.