What is this feature?
You can highlight words or phrases that are written in a different language than your presentation’s main language.
When you highlight them, screen readers can pronounce those words correctly — making your presentation clearer and more accessible.
Why it matters
Screen readers use language information to know how words should be pronounced.
If your presentation is set to English but includes a word like Bonjour, a screen reader might try to pronounce it as if it were English, which can sound confusing.
By highlight words that are in a different language, you help screen readers:
Switch to the correct pronunciation
Make multilingual content easier to understand
Provide a better experience for people who rely on assistive technology
Even small language changes can make a big difference for accessibility.
How to use it
Step 1: Enable the feature
Open your presentation in the Edit view
Click the Settings icon (cogwheel)
Go to Accessibility
Toggle on the Show language tool when editing feature
Step 2: Highlight text with a different language
Select the word or phrase in your slide
Click the Screen reader language button
Choose the appropriate language
You can:
Highlight multiple words or phrases within the same text field
Use different languages within the same slide
Change or remove a language mark at any time
This works for all text fields across all slide types.
How it works
When you highlight text with a different language, we add the appropriate language information in the code (for example: <span lang="fr">Bonjour</span>).
This change:
Does not affect how your text looks
Helps screen readers interpret the text correctly
Works alongside your presentation’s main language setting
Accessibility standards
Highlight words in a different language helps you meet accessibility guidelines that require multilingual content to be identified correctly.
This supports WCAG 2.x Success Criterion 3.1.2 (Language of Parts), which helps ensure screen readers can interpret content accurately.
Learn more: Present with accessibility and inclusion in mind — tips to help you present with clarity and inclusion.