Code talkers are people in the 20th century who used obscure languages as a means of secret communication during wartime. The term is now usually associated with the United States soldiers during the
world wars who used their knowledge of
Native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages. In particular, there were approximately 400–500 Native Americans in the
United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret
tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted these messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formal or informally developed
codes built upon their native
languages. Their service improved the speed of
encryption of communications at both ends in front line operations during
World War II.