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MS Word Grammar Checker no longer support Japanese?

dnevins

I was using MSWord Grammar Checker with Studio 2015 for a while. Then the tool stopped working suddenly in November and I got this message when I ran the verification process.

 
Message
Grammar Checker is not supported ‘Japanese (Japan)’ language
 
Origin
Grammar Checker init
 
I updated Studio to 2017, but this problem persists. I checked the settings on my MSWord 2016, which is in the Japanese subscription version of Office suite called "Office 365 Solo.” Japanese was selected as the language to spell/grammar check. On Studio 2017, MS Grammar Checker was checked in under both Verification areas under Options and Project Settings. Does the error message mean that this tool no longer supports the Japanese language? I hope it's not the case.
 
Noriko Nevins
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  • 0

    Hi dnevins,

    One possible cause is due to multiple versions of Word installed on your machine.
    For example, if you have Word 2013 or 2010 installed, check that those versions have Japanese language installed on the machine.

    Also, is the OS in Japanese? If it isn't, Japanese language support is not installed by default.
  • 0 in reply to Jesse Good
    Hi Jesse,

    Thank you for your response.

    My OS is Windows 8.1. I’ve been using it with the Japanese language support enabled for years.

    I have Word 2010 (as part of US version of Office 2010) and Word 2016 (as part of Japanese Office 365 Solo (Japanese version) on my machine. Because Word 2010 did not have Japanese spell/grammar checker tool, I decided to get Office 365 Solo. I was able to define the settings of the Japanese spell/grammar checker tool in Word 2016 and was actually able to use it with Studio 2015 for a while.

    So the app was actually working with two versions of Word on the same machine. Microsoft says the two versions of Word can coexist because types of installation are different (MSI and C2R).

    Upon your suggestion, I uninstalled Word 2010 along with the whole Office 2010 just now. I rebooted my machine, restarted Word 2016, set the Japanese spell/grammar checker too, then restarted Studio 2016. I opened a working project and ran Verification against a file with MSWord Grammar Checker turned on in both Project Settings and Options. It didn't work and I got a different message this time: "Failed to verify document: Unable to locate if Microsoft Word is installed on this machine"

    I'm totally puzzled. I have Word 2016 open and running on my machine. So it means that the plug-in is not recognizing Word 2016 now? I sent inquiries to SDL in Tokyo two or three times since last November but have received no response from them to date. They have a Webinar on the website about this plug-in and I followed the steps explained in it. I asked for their specific environment (versions of Windows and Word/Office) but no answer. I hope there's someone who can explain what's going on.

    Thank you for trying to help me, though!

    Noriko Nevins
  • 0 in reply to dnevins

    Hi Noriko,

    >I'm totally puzzled. I have Word 2016 open and running on my machine. So it means that the plug-in is not recognizing Word 2016 now?

    Yes, it is not recognizing Word 2016. I believe before when you had Word 2010 installed, it was using that grammar checker, but since you did not have Japanese language installed it gave you the first error.

    Probably the easiest solution would be to re-install Word 2010 and add Japanese language to it?

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Add-a-language-or-set-language-preferences-in-Office-2010-and-later-663D9D94-CA99-4A0D-973E-7C4A6B8A827D

    If you want to use Office 2016, you need the MSI installer version which might not be an option.
  • 0 in reply to Jesse Good
    Hi Jesse,

    I was using the Word 2010 primarily for my English-into-Japanese translation work for years. So Japanese was enabled on that Word. I just didn't have the grammar checker for that version. I tried to get it but I found out it's no longer available. That was the reason why I decided to subscribe to Japanese Office 365 Solo. And the strange things was the app was actually working with Word 2016 in the suite for a while, then suddenly stopped working.

    I did search for a newer version of Word with MSI installer. Unfortunately only enterprise version is available. For a freelancer like me, it does not make economical sense to enter into an enterprise contact. I guess I just have to wait until this app to get updated so it can be used with C2R versions of Word.

    For now, I am going to try this work-around Paul Filkin suggested: If the target file is not a Word file, create an external review file for Word, apply the spell/grammar checker to the file, make changes and import it back to Studio.

    Unlike other languages, Japanese has tens of thousands of spelling variant pairs/sets. No two Japanese translators spell all words in the exactly the same way unless a specific style guide is given to them beforehand. This has been the source of spelling inconsistency in projects and compromising TM integrity. I've been looking for a solution to this problem and I thought this app could be one.

    Thanks again for trying to help!

    Noriko
  • 0 in reply to dnevins

    Hi Noriko,

    I see. In that case, Paul's suggestion might work best. Another option is to simply copy and paste all the text into Word!

    Now, if you do have a style guide or want to enforce certain rules beforehand, I recommend using the Word List feature in the QA tools.
    This way, you can enforce certain spelling and be consistent for all files:
  • 0 in reply to Jesse Good
    Thank you, Jesse. I had thought of the same thing and had tested it last year. But I realized I have to learn more about regex in order to take conjugations in account for a Word List to work as a good spelling checker. And creating a Word List based on a lengthy style guide is pain in a neck and very time consuming, especially because I have to enter good and pad pairs one by one. Is there any method to import a xls file or text file to make it fast and easy?

    Thank you,

    Noriko
  • 0 in reply to dnevins

    Hi Noriko,

    There is a "way", but it is a little cumbersome. Paul Filkin explains it at the following link:

    https://community.sdl.com/solutions/language/translationproductivity/f/90/p/9958/38077#38077

    Hopefully SDL will make it easier in the future...
  • 0 in reply to Jesse Good
    Hi Jesse,

    C-Brain in Yokohama suggests the same method. I thought about trying it but again I have to learn more regex first.
    tsubolog.c-brains.jp/.../03-100000.php

    I solved one mystery, though. The reason my Studio 2017 didn't recognize my Word 2016 was because I installed the Word after the Studio. I tried repairing both Office and Studio according to this method found on the SDL knowledge base.
    producthelp.sdl.com/.../6342.html

    Now Studio 2017 recognizes the Word and it seems to have put Grammar Checker to work when Verification is clicked. But the plug-in flags segments with possible deviations with only "!!!." LOL

    I really appreciate you've been trying to help me. Thank you so much! I think I just have to sit tight until a new service pack with a fix comes out.

    Noriko
  • 0 in reply to Jesse Good
    Hi Jesse,

    C-Brain in Yokohama suggests the same method. I thought about trying it but again I have to learn more regex first.
    tsubolog.c-brains.jp/.../03-100000.php

    I solved one mystery, though. The reason my Studio 2017 didn't recognize my Word 2016 was because I installed the Word after the Studio. I tried repairing both Office and Studio according to this method found on the SDL knowledge base.
    producthelp.sdl.com/.../6342.html

    Now Studio 2017 recognizes the Word and it seems to have put Grammar Checker to work when Verification is clicked. But the plug-in flags segments with possible deviations with only "!!!." LOL

    I really appreciate you've been trying to help me. Thank you so much! I think I just have to sit tight until a new service pack with a fix comes out.

    Noriko