How To

How to make your Google Home multilingual – CNET

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Support for multiple languages has always been a hurdle for digital assistants. In order for a voice assistant to listen to you and carry out your commands, it has to first understand what you’re saying to it, so support for as many languages as possible is crucial.

Fortunately, Google is making strides towards expanding language support. At IFA 2018 , Google announced that support for 22 new languages is coming by the end of the year (bringing the total to 30) is coming, and multilingual support as well.

Here’s how to make it so that you can talk to Google Home ($129 at Dell Home) in multiple languages.

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How to make your Google Home bilingual

Adding a second language to your Google Home speaker will bring support for that language anywhere you normally interact with Google Assistant, including on your phone.

For now, you can only select support for two languages, and you can pair any two of the eight existing supported languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese.

To add a second language:

  • Open the Google Assistant app (Android, iOS) and tap the Explore button (shaped like a compass) in the top right corner.
  • Tap the action overflow (three horizontal dots) button in the top right corner and select Settings.
  • Go to Preferences > Assistant language.
  • Tap Add a language.
  • Select one of the supported languages in the menu.
  • Back out of Settings.

Once a second language is added, the assistant will respond with whichever language you first spoke to it using, meaning you can seamlessly switch between, say, Spanish and English.

If you added the wrong language by accident and want to change or remove it, just go back to this menu. You can scroll to the bottom of the list and select None to fully remove the second language.

Not only can you change the language your Google Home speaks, you can also change its voice.

Also, try these 43 games you can play with your Google Home speaker.

Google Assistant now gives you a quick rundown of your day: In one consolidated overview, Assistant can pull together info like commute times and scheduled meetings so you can plan your day.

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