DECK OF PLAYING CARDS WITH LANGUAGE TRANSLATIONS

Abstract

A deck of playing cards with language translations includes playing cards having a front face and a rear face; a uniform rear design on the rear face; a suit and rank designator on the front face; a title in a first language on the front face; and a translation of the title into a second language on the front face. The translation includes a name of the second language; a written word or phrase that translates the title into the second language; and a phonetic transcription of said written word or phrase. The deck may include a plurality of translations.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. patent application No. 61/295,921, filed Jan. 18, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to playing cards, and more specifically to a custom deck of playing cards featuring language translations for common travel use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a device includes a playing card having a front face and a rear face; a title in a first language on the front face; and a translation of the title in a second language on the front face, the translation including a written foreign word and a phonetic transcription of a pronunciation of the word.

In another aspect of the present invention, a device includes a playing card having a front face and a rear face; a rear design on the rear face; a suit and rank designator on the front face; a title in a first language on the front face; and a translation of the title into a second language on the front face, the translation including: a name of the second language; a written word or phrase that translates the title into the second language; and a phonetic transcription of said written word or phrase.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a device includes a deck of playing cards; each card having a title in a primary language and a plurality of translation of the title into foreign languages; and each translation including a name of the foreign language, a spelling of the title translated into the foreign language, and a phonetic pronunciation of the spelling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an example playing card according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a front view of another example playing card according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The preferred embodiment and other embodiments, which can be used in industry and include the best mode now known of carrying out the invention, are hereby described in detail with reference to the drawings. Further embodiments, features and advantages will become apparent from the ensuing description, or may be learned without undue experimentation. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, except where otherwise indicated. The following description of embodiments, even if phrased in terms of “the invention” or what the embodiment “is,” is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but describes the manner and process of making and using the invention. The coverage of this patent will be described in the claims. The order in which steps are listed in the claims does not necessarily indicate that the steps must be performed in that order.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention generally provides a deck of educational playing cards. More specifically, the current invention may provide a deck of educational playing cards featuring language translations for a common travel use.

An embodiment of a standard pack of cards may include fifty-two cards and two jokers, with suits and number/rank designators in two corners, top left and bottom right.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, embodiments of a playing card 10 may include a suit and rank designator 12, such as the three of clubs, and an English or other primary-language word or phrase as a title 14, such as “HELLO,” on a front face. Multiple cards 10 in a deck may have a uniform rear design, so that the cards cannot be distinguished from the rear. The card 10 may include a plurality of language translations of the primary-language title on the face of the card, with each of the translations including a language name 16, a written foreign word or phrase 18 and a phonetic transcription 20 in English pronunciation. For example, the translations for “HELLO” could include “French BONJOUR (Boh(n)-zhure)” and “German HALLO (Ah-llo)”. Translations may utilize different fronts for characters that do not normally appear in the primary language, for example, a font for Greek.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention may have one or several languages translated on each card depending on an available space. In addition, each language may be in different color for convenience of reading and separation. The back side of each card may have a uniform design with either a customized design or a non-customized design. Furthermore, the present invention may have customized words and phrases to target a group of customers. For example, a pack of playing cards may be designed for students travelling to a foreign country that may include words associated with school, transportation, entertainment, restaurant, hotel, etc.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention may combine flash cards of foreign translations with a universal deck of playing cards. A universal deck of playing cards, such as a poker or bridge deck, may have at least 52 cards, including ranks of numbers from 1 to 10, jack, queen, king, and ace, and suits of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. Other decks may be for other games, such as a 48-card deck for pinochle, having 9 through Ace with two cards of each rank and suit. Users may read the travel language translations while playing cards, anything from solitaire to hearts. Users may learn and remember their new word or phrase in another language after playing many times with the playing cards of the present invention.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention may include multiple languages so that users may not have to buy a new deck of cards for each country when they cross borders to another country.

An embodiment of a playing card may comprise a card having a front face and a rear face, said card having an English word or phrase as a title; and at least one foreign language translations of the English title on the front face of the card, each of the translations including a written foreign word or phrase and a phonetic transcription in English pronunciation. Other embodiments may have a primary language other than English.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a playing card having a front face and a rear face;

a title in a first language on the front face; and

a translation of the title in a second language on the front face, the translation including a written foreign word and a phonetic transcription of a pronunciation of the word.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a name of the second language, written in the first language, on the front face.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first language is English.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the playing card has a suit and rank designator.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second translation of the title in a third language on the front face.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of translations of the title in different languages on the front face, where different countries are associated with the languages.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of translations of the title in different languages on the front face, where each of said translations is in a different color.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the title is depicted utilizing a first font for the first language, and the written foreign word utilizes a second font that includes characters that do not appear in the first font.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said playing cards, wherein the rear faces of said playing cards have a uniform design, thereby providing a deck of playing cards.

10. The deck of playing cards of claim 9, wherein the titles of each card are different.

11. The deck of playing cards of claim 9, further comprising a second deck of playing cards, the first language of the second deck being a different language than the first language of the first deck, thereby providing a plurality of decks covering different primary languages.

12. The deck of playing cards of claim 9, wherein the deck is a poker deck, a bridge deck, or a pinochle deck.

13. A device comprising:

a playing card having a front face and a rear face;

a rear design on the rear face;

a suit and rank designator on the front face;

a title in a first language on the front face; and

a translation of the title into a second language on the front face, the translation including:

a name of the second language;

a written word or phrase that translates the title into the second language; and

a phonetic transcription of said written word or phrase.

14. The device of claim 13, further comprising a second translation of the title into a third language on the front face, thereby providing a playing card with a plurality of translations.

15. The device of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of said playing cards having the same rear design, thereby providing a deck of playing cards.

16. A device, comprising:

a deck of playing cards;

each card having a title in a primary language and a plurality of translation of the title into foreign languages; and

each translation including a name of the foreign language, a spelling of the title translated into the foreign language, and a phonetic pronunciation of the spelling.