What is the Language bar?
The Language bar appears on your desktop automatically when you add handwriting recognition, speech recognition, or an Input Method Editor (IME) as a method of entering text. You can use the buttons on the Language bar to perform tasks related to these text services.
For example, if you are entering text with a handwriting input device, use the buttons on the Language bar to open the Writing Pad window, from which you can insert handwritten text in your document.
The buttons and options that are displayed on the Language bar depend on the text services you have installed, and the software program that is currently active. For example, Microsoft Word 2002 supports speech recognition, while Notepad does not. If both programs are running, the speech buttons are displayed when Microsoft Word is active, but disappear when you make Notepad the active program.
You can move the Language bar anywhere on your screen, minimize it to the taskbar, or make it nearly transparent. If you don't use it, you can close it. You should remove text services that you don't use, as they require computer memory and can affect performance.