What is so funny about this English sign seen in a foreign country?

Question

Could anyone explain to me;
1. what is the sign below meant in the first place? how it should be ?
2. what is funny about this sign?

An Austrian hotel catering to staying skiers:
NOT TO PERAMBULATE THE CORRIDORS IN THE HOURS OF REPOSE IN THE BOOTS OF ASCENSION

I am non-English speaker, so explanation in plain English will be much appreciated.

Answer 1

The sign is politely asking guests not to walk through the halls in their ski boots late at night, because they're loud. It's funny because they've used uncommon words from old english to describe common concepts. "Perambulate" is a seldom used word that means walk. "Hours of repose" is also a funny phrase because it literally means "sleeping time". "Boots of Ascension" is funny because it makes your ski boots sound like a religious icon. Does that help?

By the way, your written english is very well put together for a non-english speaker. Congratulations!

Answer 2

It is funny because most signs are written in simple language that everyone can understand, whereas this sign has been written by someone who obviously doesn't understand English well and in an effort to sound sophisticated he has used extremely complicated words such as 'perambulate' when 'walk' would do.

The sign should say:

'Please don't walk in the corridors at night wearing high heels.'

(I think).

Answer 3

LOL. This is funny because the sign uses words and terms that are no longer frequently used. It sounds very complicated when the sign could easily say (and also be easily understand): Don't walk in ski boots in the hallways during nighttime.

Answer 4

Perambulate means to walk.
Repose is rest.
Boots of ascension are the boots you went down stairs in or ski boots.
When you find a word that you don't understand, find an online dictionary or type it in to answers.com.

Answer 5

It would be correct to say this:
NO CLIMBING BOOTS IN THE HALLWAYS WHILE PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING.

I guess that the management thinks that people wearing climbing boots are making too much noise at night. The sentence construction of the original sign is bizarre.

For more of this sort of thing (curious translations from Japanese to English in this case), check this out:
www.engrish.com

Answer 6

Please don't wander the hallways in your ski boots during sleeping hours!

It's funny because it looks like the creator of the sign chose all the secondary meanings of the words out of the dictionary and squashed them together without really understanding their usage.

Answer 7

Don't walk around the halls in ski boots while people may normally be sleeping.

Answer 8

1 - it should be: Don't wear your ski boots in the hallways at night
2 - it's funny because the translation just uses big complicated words in a sort of confusing way

Answer 9

Well perambulaters are things you push babies round in,so maybe that means get the kids to bed and don,t wear boots that make you ascend (go uphill) whilst doing this. I actually thought ascension had something to do with religion

Answer 10

It's a silly way of saying: "Don't walk in your big loud boots around the halls and stairways late at night while everybody is sleeping"..