problem spell check dictionaries c/n/b installed.. LO

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#1

ubuntu 16.04  amd 64 LTS Haswell Chip Set
Version: 5.1.6.2  Build ID: 1:5.1.6~rc2-0ubuntu1~xenial2
CPU Threads: 2; OS Version: Linux 4.4; UI Render: default;
Locale: en-CA (en_CA.UTF-8); Calc: group

dictionaries will not attach to the spell checker message in writer.  Spell checker c/n be activated by checking it in the menu.  When clicked on in the menu drop down the checkeer checked the document and found no spelling errors, but w/o a directory to check spelling against it found no error; and there were many errors to be found.

no matter what I do, I cannot get the add to dictionary to add a dictionary  of any kind
each click to add to dictionary.. returns  "spell check complete".. and drops me out to the document.

how can that be fixed?  Is this a permissions problem of some kind?