You can use Cortana in Windows 10 to set reminders, send emails and search your computer for files. With its integration with various third-party apps, like Uber, Hulu, and Twitter, you can also use Cortana to order a car, watch your favorite show or dictate a tweet.

However, if you interested to hear what Cortana sounds like with a British accent or want to practice your Spanish or French, then it is possible to change Cortana’s language voice to one of the supported countries native language.

Cortana in Windows 10 is currently only available in the following regions Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, U.K., and the U.S.

Change Cortana’s voice and language

1. Click on the Start menu > Settings > Time & language.
2. In the left-hand panel click on Region & language.
3. Select a new region from the list, but remember that Cortana is currently only available in the regions mentioned above. If you want Cortana to speak to you with a British accent, select the United Kingdom from the list.
4. Under the Languages subheading, click Add a language.
5. Select the relevant language for your chosen region. If you selected the United Kingdom for your region, then you will choose English from the language’s screen.
6. The next screen will prompt you to select the local dialect, for example, English (United Kingdom), English (South Africa), English (Jamaica) etc.
7. Once this is complete you will be back on the Region & language screen. Select the language you just added and click Set as default.
8. Once it is set as your default language, select the language again and click on the Options button.
9. Download both the ‘Download language pack’ and ‘Speech’ onto your computer and wait for the installation to complete.
10. Under Speech, click Settings.
11. Select your new language, that you added in step 7, from the Speech language menu.
12. Check the box next to Recognize non-native accents for this language to help improve speech recognition.
13. Restart your computer.
14. When you launch Cortana, it will prompt you for your name.

Tip: If you have changed your language, but still want the U.S. QWERTY keyboard, select the language button in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, to the left of the clock. Select U.S. Keyboard from the list.

Cortana will now speak to you with a British accent, but you will also have noticed that your date format has changed to day / month / year. If this is an irritation for you you can opt for U.S. date formatting.

• In Cortana’s search box, type in Region and select Region Control Panel from the results.
• In the Format menu, select English (United States) > click Ok.

Image credit: ClkerFreeVectorImages, Pixabay