A pointy-talky card or point talk card is a sheet used for communication between people who do not share a mutual language, on which the people conversing can point at the pictograph or dual-language phrase that conveys their message.[1] During World War II, memoirs of US servicemen mention using such cards to indicate phrases in Chinese and in French.[2][3] Point talk cards are also used by police and emergency services personnel to communicate with people who do not speak the authority's language.[4]

A US Military point-talk card used in Afghanistan, with the upper left corner being used to describe an individual by indicating their height, eye color, etc. by pointing

References

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  1. ^ Larry S. Miller; John T. Whitehead (13 October 2014). Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals. Routledge. pp. 288–. ISBN 978-1-317-52174-7.
  2. ^ Edward M. Bender; Usafr Lt Col (Ret) Edward M. Bender (1 April 2009). Lest They Forget Freedom's Price: Memoirs of a WWII Bomber Pilot. AuthorHouse. pp. 237–. ISBN 978-1-4389-6073-9.
  3. ^ William Taylor (2007). Rescued by Mao: World War II, Wake Island, and My Remarkable Escape to Freedom Across Mainland China. Silverleaf Press. ISBN 978-1-933317-87-8.
  4. ^ Jerrold G. Brown; Clarice R. Cox (1998). Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals. Anderson Publishing Company. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-87084-204-7.