"Foreigners will point to English Phrase or Word Equivalent to their Language".
This large broadside polyglot vocabulary folds down to pocket size, and as such was designed as a handy tool for American servicemen travelling in various theatres of the Second World War. The languages included are: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Russian, Polish, Jewish [Yiddish], German, Chinese and Japanese. The English language translations are repeated every third column for ease of tracking back and forth. Each column is topped with a national flag, with the American stars and stripes representing the English language. The Jewish flag predates the official 1948 adoption of the flag of Israel, but echoes its earlier incarnations used amongst Zionist groups.
The list of around 650 words and phrases offered focus on the mundane necessities of everyday life including a few basic verbs (I want, I have, I am) and plenty of common nouns (Tobacco, Whiskey, Coffee, Lipstick, Dance Hall). Basic questions include "What is your regiment?" and a section of vocabulary is clearly intended to help a wounded solider express his medical needs (I have a pain here, I need a purgative, Poison). Numbers and military specific words are included, as well as phrases designed to aid social and amorous interactions across cultures (Are you married? You are beautiful, Let us dance, thank you for a pleasant evening). The verso includes further food, clothing, animal and machinery words, as well as other useful queries and phrases.
At a cost of $1 per copy, the year after its publication, the Lark Point System was reviewed somewhat unfavourably: "This device is apparently conceived to catch the public eye, to exercise a wide appeal to men and women in service, whose parents, wives, and sweethearts are urged to send copies to them. Doubtless the compiler sincerely believes (and he may be right in his belief) that he is rendering a real service to the uni-lingual of many nations. I should like to talk to someone who has used the chart for purposes of communication and see how it worked in practice. I doubt its value; handling the bulky chart and hunting and pointing out words and phrases would be cumbersome, slow and awkward, and for many purposes gestures would probably serve as well.
"But the chart does one thing; it does show how woefully we are prepared in languages. If it serves to make those who see it and use it more language conscious it will have served a useful purpose" (Miller).
This may go some way to explain why so few copies of the Lark Point System survive - we could trace only one through OCLC, at Buffalo and Eery Public Library.
Miller, Wm. Marion. "Lark Point System" [Review] in The Modern Language Journal, Vol 28, No. 8. (Dec, 1944), pp.701-702. .
