# Languages and recognition

The **Languages** control in **Settings → General** lets you keep a list of languages and choose a **Primary** language. In the current candidate, Primary is the language sent to supported cloud recognition for each recording. Selecting several languages does not make Nock automatically alternate between them.

## Set a primary language

1. Open **Settings → General → Languages**.
2. Search for a language by its name, native name, or language code.
3. Select it in the list.
4. Mark that language **Primary**.
5. Close the picker and test a short sentence in a scratch document.

At least one language remains selected. If you remove the primary language, another selected language takes its place. Check the Primary label after reorganizing the list; the presence of a checkmark alone does not mean the recognizer is using that language.

The next recording uses the changed setting without restarting Nock. This applies to both dictation and spoken requests to the agent. It controls recognition of your speech, rather than guaranteeing the language in which an agent will answer. For a reply in a particular language, include that request explicitly.

## A practical multilingual workflow

Suppose you dictate English work notes and Spanish personal messages. Keep both in the picker, but change Primary before switching tasks. Record one short sentence and inspect it before dictating a long message. If the recognizer keeps replacing a familiar word with an unrelated English word, first check Primary rather than adding many dictionary entries.

Mixed-language sentences depend on the speech provider's support. These docs do not promise automatic language detection or equal accuracy for every listed language. Language choices in the interface and capabilities of the active recognition provider are different things.

## Dictionary and polishing

[Your words](/nock/dictionary) supplies short recognition hints to supported cloud providers. Use the correct spelling for names and specialist terms; hints do not force a transcription.

[Light polishing](/nock/dictation-polish) applies English filler-word and repeat rules when English is primary. With other languages it performs spacing cleanup, rather than applying English word rules to foreign-language text. [Replacements](/nock/replacements) are useful for exact phrases after recognition.

## Local recognition and privacy

The current macOS speech fallback is configured for US English and does not consume the custom-word list. Selecting another Primary language does not establish support for that language in the fallback. Cloud recognition sends the chosen language and supported vocabulary hints with audio to the speech service.

Apple recognition prefers on-device processing when supported, but can use Apple's speech service otherwise. A fallback label should not be read as a promise that all recordings stay offline.

## When results are wrong

Confirm Primary, check the [microphone](/nock/microphone), and test without polishing or replacements. If a short clean sentence fails repeatedly, record the language, input device, recognition status, and a non-sensitive example for support. Do not include private recordings or account keys. See [dictation troubleshooting](/nock/dictation-troubleshooting) for separating recognition from insertion failures.