## https://sprecho.ai/help/dictation/choose-and-switch-your-dictation-language — Choose and switch your dictation language

> How Sprecho handles dictation languages, where to record the languages you speak, how to switch mid-session, and what to expect from quality per language.

*Updated: 2026-08-23* *Plans: free, pro, enterprise*

Sprecho recognises the language of every dictation by itself. You do not switch
a mode before you speak German instead of English — you just speak, and the text
comes back in the language you used, punctuated according to that language's
rules.

This article covers where the language settings live, how switching works in
practice, and what to expect from quality across languages.

### Where the language settings live

Open **Settings → Dictation Languages**. The screen has two parts:

- **Auto-detect language**, on by default.
- **Selected languages** — the list of languages you speak, with a searchable
  picker underneath. A dozen popular languages sit at the top under **Popular**;
  the rest are under **All Languages**.

Search matches the name you see, so on a German interface you find German by
typing *Deutsch*, not only *German*.

Recording the languages you actually speak keeps the app honest about who you
are. It is not a switch you have to flip before every dictation.

### Switching language mid-session

Nothing to do. Dictate a German paragraph, then dictate an English one right
after it, into the same document. Each dictation is handled separately, and each
one comes back formatted for the language you spoke.

That also means the sensible unit of switching is **one dictation**. Speaking
half a sentence in German and finishing it in English is the case that produces
the weakest result, because there is one answer to give for the whole clip.

> If you routinely write in two languages, dictate in whole sentences and let
> the key go between them. A clean break between languages is worth more than
> any setting.

### What to expect per language

Recognition quality is not uniform, and it helps to know where you are:

| Group | What to expect |
|---|---|
| English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch | Strongest results, including on technical vocabulary |
| Polish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish and similar | Very usable; occasional errors on names and abbreviations |
| Less widely spoken languages | Works, but expect more corrections, particularly on proper nouns |

Two things improve every language equally:

- **Recordings of at least three seconds.** Very short clips give the model less
  to work with. A full sentence beats two words.
- **The personal dictionary.** Names, company terms and jargon that are
  unusual in any language get spelled correctly once you add them — see
  [Teach Sprecho your words with the dictionary](/help/formatting-and-ai/teach-sprecho-your-words-with-the-dictionary).

### Interface language is a separate setting

Do not confuse the two:

- **Dictation language** — what you speak. Handled per dictation.
- **Interface language** — the language of the Sprecho app itself: menus,
  buttons, settings. Change it under **Settings → System → Interface Language**.

You can run a German interface and dictate in English, or the other way round.
They are independent.

### Accented and non-native speech

Sprecho is trained on a wide range of speakers, so a strong regional accent or
speaking a language as a second language is normally fine. What hurts more than
accent is background noise and a distant microphone — see
[Choose the right microphone](/help/dictation/choose-the-right-microphone).

### Related

- [Automatic language detection](/help/dictation/automatic-language-detection)
- [Improve recognition accuracy](/help/dictation/improve-recognition-accuracy)
- [How Sprecho formats what you say](/help/formatting-and-ai/how-sprecho-formats-what-you-say)

### FAQ

#### How many languages does Sprecho support?
More than 100. The picker in Settings under Dictation Languages lists the most-used ones at the top and the rest below, and recognition covers the full set the underlying speech model knows.

#### Do I have to change a setting to dictate in another language?
No. Sprecho recognises the language of each dictation on its own, so you can switch between, say, German and English from one sentence to the next without touching anything.

#### Can I dictate in two languages in the same document?
Yes. Each dictation is handled on its own, so alternating between languages paragraph by paragraph works. Mixing two languages inside a single sentence is the case that gives the weakest results.

#### Is recognition quality the same in every language?
No. Widely spoken languages such as English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese are the strongest. Less common languages work but make more mistakes, especially with names and technical terms.