14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s support for dictation is much more helpful than you’re tempted to believe for Microsoft Word users, as it allows them to work on their documents without even touching their keyboards.
But of course, speaking to your computer and having it write what you say only works as long as your language is supported, so it goes without saying this should be Microsoft’s focus in the long term.
And as it turns out, it already is, with Microsoft working around the clock of adding more languages to its dictation feature in Microsoft Word.
The most recent update has added a series of new languages to the dictation feature, some of which are currently available in preview.
So in addition to English (U.S., U.K., Canada) French, German, Spanish, and Chinese, Microsoft Word now supports more languages in preview, including Danish, Dutch, English Australian and India, Finnish, French Canada, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Swedish.
“Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Office with a microphone and reliable internet connection. It's a quick and easy way to get your thoughts out, create drafts or outlines, and capture notes,” Microsoft explains, adding that it’s already working on bringing even more languages to Microsoft Word users.
Free of charge on mobile
Worth knowing, however, is that the dictation feature is available free of charge on the web and in the mobile versions of Microsoft Word, but on the other hand, if you want to use it on the desktop in Windows, you’re going to need a subscription for the productivity suite.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a massive update for dictation in Word and Outlook that also included auto punctuation.
“Auto punctuation adds punctuation to your dictation. Likewise, it eliminates you having to say “period” or “comma.” Punctuation is determined by the pauses in dictation. In other words, speak naturally and fluidly for the best results. However, if you’d like auto punctuation disabled, you can still speak punctuation marks to insert them in your content,” the company said.
The feature, however, was originally released only for insiders.