This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Firefox can't spell in English/United Kingdom language pack.

  • 11 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Paskiausią atsakymą parašė cor-el

more options

The English UK language pack can't spell. The word COLOUR is always highlighted as being wrong (even as I type this it is highlighted as being wrong), the language selected is ENGLISH/UNITED KINGDOM [en-gb] There are no other language packs selected, only ENGLISH/UNITED KINGDOM [en-gb] The ENGLISH US language pack is not selected so therefor should not be in use. Is it possible Firefox can at least get the most widely spoken language in the world correct? Can we at least make sure the English UK spelling of words are correct, colour/color is just one of many words Firefox appears to get wrong, centre, fibre, litre, theatre, defence, licence, offence, pretence, apologise, organise, recognise, behaviour, colour, humour, labour, neighbour, flavour, leukaemia, manoeuvre, oestrogen, paediatric, travelling, travelled, traveller, fuelled, fuelling are all highlighted as being wrong spelling but are ALL correct in the UK English language. Those of Firefox who can see my email address, feel free to contact me to progress this further. Thank you.

The English UK language pack can't spell. The word COLOUR is always highlighted as being wrong (even as I type this it is highlighted as being wrong), the language selected is ENGLISH/UNITED KINGDOM [en-gb] There are no other language packs selected, only ENGLISH/UNITED KINGDOM [en-gb] The ENGLISH US language pack is not selected so therefor should not be in use. Is it possible Firefox can at least get the most widely spoken language in the world correct? Can we at least make sure the English UK spelling of words are correct, colour/color is just one of many words Firefox appears to get wrong, centre, fibre, litre, theatre, defence, licence, offence, pretence, apologise, organise, recognise, behaviour, colour, humour, labour, neighbour, flavour, leukaemia, manoeuvre, oestrogen, paediatric, travelling, travelled, traveller, fuelled, fuelling are all highlighted as being wrong spelling but are ALL correct in the UK English language. Those of Firefox who can see my email address, feel free to contact me to progress this further. Thank you.

Chosen solution

Hello,

Instead of using a language pack, you could just download Firefox in your own language :

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/?q=English%20(British)

Skaityti atsakymą kartu su kontekstu 👍 1

All Replies (11)

more options

Chosen Solution

Hello,

Instead of using a language pack, you could just download Firefox in your own language :

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/?q=English%20(British)

more options

Despite having the exact same options selected, Firefox now doesn’t spell check at all. Colour, color, cplour all are not highlighted as being incorrect even though only one being a correct English UK spelling. Yes the spell check as I type is still enabled and English UK is the only language selected.

Regards, K.

more options

Would you consider using this British English Dictionary add-on  ?

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/british-english-dictionary-2/

more options

Hello Happy112, The Firefox English United Kingdom dictionary is already selected, surely for commonly used English UK words one should not require yet another additional English language add on dictionary? Or am I wrong in that the usual Firefox English United Kingdom dictionary is insufficient to correctly check words like "colour" and "color"? Regards, K.

more options

Would you please take a look at this thread  ?

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1207708

Maybe you'll find the answer(s) you're looking for there .....

I merely suggested the add-on in reaction to your penultimate post.

Modified by Happy112

more options

Thanks for all the help, it is really very much appreciated.

After I down loaded the English Firefox and installed it, I found the spell checking stopped working altogether and the option to check words by right clicking and selecting the option from the drop down menu also disappeared too.

I uninstalled Firefox completely, down loaded the Firefox installer and re-installed Firefox..

Spelling all working again and the English UK dictionary working too. Then I found emailed links in Outlook would no longer open and a message coming up saying to contact the system administrator, guess who that is! I'd not seen this before, so a quick Google turned up a Micro$oft Quick Fix down load and for the first time something from Micro$oft actually did what it was supposed to and first time too.

The end result is links sent as emails work now and Firefox does actually check spelling correctly.

Thank you again for the help. Kind regards, K.

Modified by Flextel

more options

Flextel said

Thanks for all the help, it is really very much appreciated.

My pleasure - I'm happy when you are happy (no pun intended)  !

more options

Note that a language pack only provides translations for strings in the user interface. If you need a spelling dictionary then you need to install one yourself. Only a few locales come with a builtin dictionary for licensing reason and you need to install the dictionary yourself if it isn't included. If you would refresh Firefox then you need to reinstall components that are stored in the profile folder like a dictionary or language pack.

more options

Thank you for your reply, but as previously stated; This problem has been resolved by reinstalling Firefox. The fact that Firefox would not check spellings correctly, then not check spellings at all after changing to another version of Firefox, had nothing at all to do with needing to install extra dictionaries, it would appear Firefox itself had become corrupt and the configuration of the dictionaries and spelling options would not work correctly!

All is working correctly now.

more options

Downloading a locale specific version of Firefox should not be the correct solution to this since most people rely on package managers of some kind to perform upgrades, etc.

It would seem that the correct solution is to right click in an edit control and choose Languages/English (United Kingdom), if that option is missing from the context menu choose the dictionary of your choice. I've always found the choice of language/dictionary in Firefox to be overly complicated, and the fact that there is no reference to spell check in Preferences/Language only adds to the confusion. At any rate, adding the dictionary and selecting it in the Languages context menu solved the problem for me.

more options

The en-GB version doesn't come with a dictionary. You will always have to make sure you still have a dictionary installed and selected. The way to do this is to right-click in a text area and open the Language sub menu. You can't select a dictionary via Options/Preferences. What you select in Options/Preferences are the preferred languages send via the HTTP request headers to the server.