LanguageTool: A Multilingual Spelling and Grammar Checker

The Benefits of Being Multilingual

Being able to speak more than one language has more pros than cons. A few of the pros are:

• having a wider range of vocabulary that allows you to express yourself more accurately.
• being able to appreciate and enjoy more shows, music, books, memes, etc.
• having access to more employment opportunities.

There’s only one con we can think of: finding a spelling and grammar checker that is just as multilingual as you are.

Enter LanguageTool: a spelling and grammar checker that supports over 30 languages. Yes, you read that right. LanguageTool can check your texts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors in several languages. But it does much more than that. Below, we’ll go over what LanguageTool is and which languages it supports.

What Is LanguageTool?

LanguageTool is an intelligent writing assistant. It detects (and corrects) various types of errors, whether it be a misspelled word, complex grammar issue, or misplaced punctuation.

Truth be told, there are many spelling and grammar checkers out there that do this. So, what sets LanguageTool apart?

A lot.

LanguageTool enhances your writing not just by correcting errors, but by strengthening your text all around. It does this by suggesting stylistic improvements, helping you avoid redundancies, and easily providing synonyms that can help you get your message across more accurately.

As if that weren’t impressive enough, LanguageTool can also elevate your writing by helping rephrase your sentences to be more formal, fluent, simple, or concise.

Simply put, LanguageTool is an advanced text editor that can help take your writing from average to exceptional.

Which Languages Are Supported?

As we already mentioned, being able to speak more than one language is advantageous. However, being multilingual also means having to remember a seemingly infinite number of grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules. It can be easy to mix up rules or mistakenly carry them over from another language.

That’s what makes LanguageTool the superior grammar and spelling checker: It can help improve your writing regardless of which language you’re writing in.

LanguageTool can help you avoid common mistakes that occur when you write in two (or more) languages.

LanguageTool’s Premium languages are:

• English
• Dutch
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Portuguese

LanguageTool also supports:

• Arabic
• Asturian
• Belarusian
• Breton
• Catalan
• Chinese
• Danish
• Dutch
• Esperanto
• French
• Galician
• Greek
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese
• Khmer
• Norwegian
• Persian
• Polish
• Romanian
• Russian
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Swedish
• Tagalog
• Tamil
• Ukrainian

It’s worth noting that LanguageTool also supports different dialects of several languages.

• English: Australia, British, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, US
• German: Austria, Germany, Switzerland
• Portuguese: Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, Portugal

How To Set or Change a Language on LanguageTool

1. Open the editor (Windows, Mac, or online editor).

2. Click “setting” on the left-hand side of the editor.

3. Under “Account,” click on “General.”

4. Choose your display language and mother tongue.

5. (Optional) Choose a standard variety.

Did you know that LanguageTool supports Oxford English as a seventh (unofficial) dialect for English? If you have selected British English as your language variant, you can opt to follow the Oxford spelling standards. While this won’t bring significant changes, it will consider words ending in “-ize” and “-ization” as correct, whereas British spelling standards use “-ise” and “-isation.”

What’s the Difference Between “Display Language” and “Mother Tongue”?

Display Language is the language on the editor’s user interface. In other words, it’s the language you see when you’re using the LanguageTool Editor.

Please note that the language you select here plays no role in the correction of your writing.

Mother Tongue, on the other hand, does play a role in enhancing your text—specifically when it comes to detecting false cognates (also known as false friends).

What Are “False Friends”?

False friends are words in two different languages that sound the same and therefore cause you to believe they mean the same thing. For example, embarrassed in English means “feeling self-conscious confusion,” while embarazada in Spanish means “pregnant.” If you’re an English speaker learning Spanish, it would make sense for you to assume that these words mean the same thing.

Once you have your Mother Tongue set, LanguageTool will warn you about possible false friends.

What Are “Single-Word Translations”?

Speaking and writing in multiple languages isn’t always smooth sailing. Regardless of where you are in your language journey, it’s common to forget words, even in your mother tongue. Luckily, LanguageTool can help.

If ever you’re writing in a language that isn’t your assigned mother tongue and you forget a word, just write in the language you do know it in. LanguageTool will then find the word you’re looking for in the respective language.

LanguageTool: A Multilingual Writing Assistant for a Multilingual World

Being multilingual takes a lot of effort and hard work. Whether you’ve already mastered multiple languages or have just started your journey, LanguageTool makes it easier by ensuring your text is flawless—regardless of which language you’re writing in.