No Smoking in Persian

Persian no-smoking sign: “The employees of this inn do not use nicotine products.”

I kept seeing the above same sign at various inns I stayed at and wondered about its significance.

It says: “Dearest Guest, The employees of this inn do not use nicotine products.”

So what? Why are you telling me this? Why would I care that the employees of this inn do not smoke?

Then one night my father came in sneezing and complaining about German tourists smoking in the lobby.

“There’s a no-smoking sign there but the darn thing is in Persian,” he said plaintively.

What no-smoking sign? I asked.

To my amazement, I realized he was talking about the mysterious employees-don’t-smoke sign.

You see, by expressing its employees’ dislike for smoking, the hotel is indirectly asking the guests to not smoke! I am not kidding. My father tells me this is just as serious as any non-smoking sign in the West. They’re just doing indirectly, trying to be polite and non-confrontational. They’re being gentle and considerate but they expect you to understand it as a request not to smoke.

It might seem weird to the Westerner. For chrissake, why don’t you just say it plain and simple in two darn words: “No smoking”?

But who are we to say what is normal communication?