Abstract: A hand held device for displaying a message. The device includes a keypad including a plurality of keys for inputting data indicative of the message to be displayed and generating a message signal based upon the received signals, a microprocessor for receiving and interpreting the message signal from the keypad and producing a display signal based upon the interpretation and a display device for receiving the display signal from the microprocessor and displaying a message representative of the received display signal. A power supply is connected to supply power to the microprocessor, display device and keypad and a plurality of templates may be removably positioned over the keypad to identify each key of said keypad, each template represents a different language in which the message may be displayed. The desired language for selection of the message is selected prior to inputting the message and the corresponding template is then positioned to cover the keypad to properly identify the keys.