Learning from humorous communication mistakes
Shades of Meanings - Do WHAT with the chambermaids?
It's easy to forget that words and phrases have different meanings for different people, even when none of those meanings are actually wrong or incorrect. It's important to become more sensitive to the diversity of phrases and the nuances of meanings so we don't accidentally create misunderstandings. Here's an example of usage which actually has several meanings, with neither being wrong.
In a Tokyo hotel room the following sign was observed:
You are respectfully requested to take advantage of the chambermaids.
It's easy to chalk this up to translation problems, but clearly that phrase could legitimately mean at least two things. The context, of course helps us determine which meaning was intended. If the wording was somewhat different, and it appeared in a brothel, then the "other" meaning would have taken precedence.