I'm studying a language though usually my Mac is in English.
I need right click->Speech to be in the language I study (use it in Dictionary), so I need a quick way to switch between languages.
Note, this is not input language for the keyboard, it is the language selected in Settings->Language & Region. I cannot find a way to put that setting into the menubar, like is possible for input language or bluetooth.
Any ideas for this?
MacBook, macOS 12.3
Are you talking about looking up words in Dictionary app? You can just add languages to that via the app preferences.
Or do you want to have Text to Speech change languages?
Which language is it that you need? Do you need this in all apps or just one?
Normally changing something in Language and Region requires restarting the device,
fenglich wrote:
I right click on a word and select Speech->Start Speaking.
Aha, yes! Check these older ideas for doing what you want to see if they may help.
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/42322/text-to-speech-shortcuts-with-two-languages
https://superuser.com/questions/468130/mac-os-x-quickly-change-voices-for-text-to-speech
I want to be able to quickly switch the language that is used in Text to Speech, in the Dictionary app. Hence, I'd like a menu bar option for that, just like for bluetooth or input language.
I'm using Arabic. I don't need it in all apps, I just want the entries in the Dictionary app read up.
fenglich wrote:
I'm using Arabic. I don't need it in all apps, I just want the entries in the Dictionary app read up.
On my machine I don't see any option for text to speech in Dictionary app at all. How exactly are you doing this at present?
You can ask Apple to add it via
I wonder if the new Shortcuts app offers a way to do it. I've never tried to use it for anything myself yet...
Intro to Shortcuts on Mac - Apple Support
I right click on a word and select Speech->Start Speaking.
I guess that does it.
I think the Dictionary app should have a button for this like in Google Translate, it's a natural feature for this app. Obviously there's a demand for it too.
Switch between language from menubar
