Accessible PowerPoint (implementation guide)

4.1. Main language

The text passages that differ from the main language are marked with the appropriate language (language change).

What is meant by this?

If a presentation is written in several languages, it is important to indicate passages that differ from the main language in the other language.

The main language of a presentation is the language that is used most frequently in the presentation and that best describes the content. Defining the main language of a presentation is important as it determines which spell checker, grammar checker and other language-specific functions are used.

A language change refers to the change of language for a specific section or word in a presentation that differs from the main language. If sections or words within a presentation are required in another language, for example when using quotations, foreign-language terms or in a multilingual presentation, these must also be marked with the corresponding language.

Why is it important?

Marking language changes is important for the accessibility of presentations, as it helps recipients who use a voice output to better understand the text and the presentation.

If this person uses a screen reader or voice output to read the presentation, they may have difficulty recognising and understanding text passages that differ from the main language, as screen readers and voice outputs do not automatically recognise different language and pronunciation is based on the stored language.

Marking language changes therefore enables screen readers and voice outputs to use the correct pronunciation.

How can I implement/check it?

There is a setting in PowerPoint that allows you to highlight the language of the text. This function is normally referred to as "language labelling" and is available in PowerPoint to perform spell checking and grammar checking in the correct language.

Here are the steps for Mac and Windows to activate voice labelling in PowerPoint:

For Mac:

1. Click on "Extras" in the menu bar at the top.
2. Select "Language..." from the drop-down menu.
3. Another menu opens with the available language options. Select the desired language from the list.
4. Click on "OK" to accept the language setting.

You will also find the language function in the bottom bar of the window.

For Windows:

1. Select the text that is to be labelled in a different language.
2. Click on the "File" tab and select "Options".
3. Click on "Language".
4. Under "Select the language used in this document", select the language you wish to use. You can also select several languages if you are writing in different languages.
5. Click on "OK" to save the settings.

Once you have activated language labelling, the language of the text is automatically recognised and highlighted.

Alternatively, it is also possible to change the language of the presentation in the bar below the presentation using the "Language" function.

It is also possible to customise the language for individual slides in the presentation. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Select the slide whose language is to be customised.
2. Click on "Check" in the menu bar.
3. Click on "Language" in the toolbar and select the desired language from the drop-down menu.