英語中有一些詞匯，假如望文生義，很容易產生誤解，比如busboy，容易被認為是公共汽車售票員，但其實該單詞的意思是餐館的清潔工，其在餐館里的地位比waiter或者 waitress要低一級，通常做清理桌子、把臟盤子搬運到廚房準備清洗、打掃廁所、吸地、干些雜活如擇菜，包外賣等活兒。又如，serviceman這個單詞容易被誤解為“服務人員”，而事實上其通常指“軍人”， The term serviceman, alternatively service member, refers to non-commissioned members of armed forces. 還有，rose hip不是“玫瑰臀部”，而是“玫瑰果”。

在參與制定公共服務領域外文譯寫國家標準的過程中，課題組成員曾經遇到一個引起爭議的詞條，即“客房服務”所對應的英語是否就是room service？答案是否定的。這里的room service切不可望文生義，其真正含義是指旅館的“送餐服務”，即旅館應客人之要求，把客人點的飯菜送到客服，供客人享用的服務。

網絡百科辭典維基百科關于room service 有如下解釋：

Room service or "in-room dining" is a hotel service enabling guests to choose menu items for delivery to their hotel room for consumption there. Room Service is organized as a subdivision within the Food & Beverage Department of high-end hotel and resort properties （http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_service）。

從上文不難看出，所謂的room service 就是指高級賓館為客人提供的送餐服務。

為了進一步驗證room service 是否就是指賓館的“送餐服務”，筆者嘗試通過Google搜索到了美國的一些旅館內部關于room service的說明。

美國波士頓的Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center 在其網頁上對其提供的餐飲服務有如下介紹和宣傳：

STAY IN WITH HOTEL ROOM SERVICE

YOUR OWN PERSONAL BOSTON RESTAURANT IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOTEL ROOM

Sometimes nothing beats breakfast in bed. Unless, it is a perfectly-cooked burger and sweet potato fries. With speedy hotel room service, our in-room dining menu is chock full of everything from favorites like cookies and milk to unique entrees from Aura Restaurant. Hotel room service is delivered to your door with a smile. （參見：http://www.seaportboston.com/dining/stay-in.aspx）

芝加哥的Drake Hotel in Chicago 對于其提供的In-room dining 服務介紹如下： A full course meal, refreshment, a choice selection from the wine list, and appetizers just right and light, or how about breakfast in bed? Room Service at the Drake Hotel is available Sunday through Thursday, 6 am to 1 am and Friday through Saturday, 6 am to 2 am. To make an in-room dining request, please call Room Service at 312.932.4620. （參見：http://www.thedrakehotel.com/dine/in-room-dining/）

亞特蘭大的Atlanta Four Seasons Hotel 在向客人介紹其餐飲服務時候有著如下文字：Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta In-Room Dining is a fine-dining experience within the comfort and convenience of your guest room or suite. Choose from an extensive room service menu – day or night – that is ideal for time-zone-hopping travelers and impromptu meetings, or for quiet, private dining.

該旅館對其餐飲服務的時間說明如下：

Breakfast Every day 6:00 am-11:30 am

All-day dining Every day 11:30 am-11:00 pm

Late-night dining Every day 11:00 pm-6:00 am

參見：http://www.fourseasons.com/atlanta/dining/in_room_dining/

那么，賓館的客房服務，應該怎么說呢？http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-hotel-housekeeper.htm#slideshow 網站對什么是housekeeper做出了詳細的解釋： A hotel housekeeper is an employee of a hotel who is responsible for keeping rooms and other areas of the establishment clean. A hotel housekeeper will typically be responsible for cleaning rooms in the hotel every day, with a particularly thorough cleaning after guests check out on their last day. On a day to day basis, cleaning rooms may involve making beds, swapping used towels for fresh ones, cleaning and disinfecting the bathroom and providing new toiletries as provided by the hotel, vacuuming the carpet, and taking the trash away. When a guest checks out, a hotel housekeeper will change the sheets on the bed and polish the furniture. In addition, the housekeeper will take any forgotten items to lost and found. While a hotel housekeeper is cleaning, he or she takes account of the room and notices whether or not everything is working properly. If a light bulb is burned out, for instance, she may be responsible for replacing it, or for calling maintenance to fix a light fixture. Hotel housekeepers may be responsible for keeping the rest of the hotel looking nice as well, by vacuuming the carpeting found in stairs, hallways, conference rooms, and the lobby, among other areas. It might also be necessary to clean the furniture or the windows.

從上文看出，housekeeper就是我們所知的賓館的“客房服務員”，尤其是黑體下劃線部分的解釋十分清楚地表明了其職責范圍。此外，“客房服務員”還可以表達為housekeeping attendant。有關網頁介紹如下：Housekeeping attendants are responsible for keeping rooms and public areas at hotels, motels and other lodging establishments clean.

至此，我們也不難推斷出，賓館的“客房部”就是housekeeping department，而“客房服務”，則可以說housekeeping services，而room service絕不可以望文生義地理解為“客房服務”。

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

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（作者王銀泉 中國日報網英語點津 Julie）