How do I turn on dictation for pages 09?

What version of OSX are you using?

Mountain Lion requires an Internet connection, because it does it all via Apple's Servers.

In Maverick, Yosemite and El Capitan you can choose Enhanced Dictation which downloads the software and dictionaries to your Mac and it can be done locally.

In Pages '09 you click somewhere where you can type and Menu > Edit > Start Dictation

or hit the fn key twice.

Peter

The problem seems to be you have just Lion, not Mountain Lion.

If it is available with a fast enough network connection it should be in your System Preferences > Dictation & Speech in the line with your Users.

Peter

It depends what model of Macbook Pro you have.

If it is more than about 6 or 7 years old you may not be able to install anything later than OSX 10.7 (Lion).

If it is more recent than that, why not just go direct to OSX 10.11 (El Capitan)?

Any upgraded System is a large download (around 5-6 Gb) but if you have the speed and capacity on your network connection, then System Update under the Apple Menu will take care of all the details for you.

Peter

Initially, I was leaning in the same direction as Peter regarding Mountain Lion. I have El Capitan 10.11.2 installed on my 2011 Mac mini, and with 8GB of memory and a third-party solid state drive, it runs El Capitan flawlessly. Mountain Lion can be purchased through the Apple Online Store as an emailed coupon to be used in the Lion OS X App Store to retrieve the Mountain Lion installer. The system requirements forEl Capitan, andMountain Lionare the same, though older hardware may not support newer El Capitan features.

• MacBook Pro (mid/2007 or later)
• 2 GB of Memory (for the OS itself), and 8GB is more practical for performance on older hardware that can support more than 6GB.
• 8.8 GB of available storage space
• OS X 10.6.6 or later

The El Capitan interface design may not appeal to you. I suggest that you visit an Apple store or retailer and drive it before any update decision.

If you are still using an older printer, scanner, or other products that may have vendor support concerns, it is best to check before you make the OS X upgrade leap. Same drill for third-party applications. A frequent complaint from those that did not check beforehand is that their ____ device, or third-party application no longer works. You might even run into this just updating to Mountain Lion. Don't be satisfied with a vendor that states OS X 10.6+ support. Check with RoaringApps or the vendor support site.

And finally, storage space available, you can add another partition to your existing boot drive, and then install El Capitan into the new partition, for a dual-boot machine.

You don't need to create a second partition, just use an external Hard Drive.

I agree test before you leap. I always do. In fact I run both Snow Leopard and El Capitan.

Peter