I work in an industrial setting. Today I had a conversation with my coworkers in which we discussed that another group knew that our group has requirements that they were not going to meet based on their current work plan. Even though this group has told us they know we have requirements for them, they do not seem to be actively working towards satisfying them. I wanted to make a pithy comment to describe this conflict between their statements and their actions but could only come up with clumsy language.
The situation reminded me of French in which there are two distinct words that both translate as know in English: savoir and connaître. The first of these describes an academic learning whereas the second describes a familiarity.
For example, a new immigrant to London might study for the cabbie exam and know the streets of London very well, in this case, the verb savoir would be appropriate to describe his knowledge. But, only after actually driving on the streets for some time would it be appropriate to say he knows them in the sense of connaître.
So, is there any short way to describe these two distinct forms of knowledge in English?
Best Answer
As I understand it, connaître indicates familiarity gained from personal experience, whereas savoir is to know a fact intellectually.
While not a perfect analogue, one can compare this to the distinction between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. The former is abstract, systematic and acquired through logic, whereas the latter is acquired by studying "facts on the ground." In theory (or on paper, i.e. according to plan and schedule) a flight may depart at 15:04 and arrive at 16:37, making a 17:24 connection possible; in practice, due to congestion, the plane does not usually reach the gate until after 16:50, making the connection impossible.
The colloquial terms book smart and street smart are related. Someone who is book smart may be an excellent scholar, but lacks the common sense or social skills of someone who is street smart.
English also distinguishes between knowing something (meaning to possess knowledge of something) and knowing of something (having awareness of the existence of something). This is again an inexact analogue to the terms, but one that I would apply to your coworkers: they know of the requirements but they do not know them.
There is an old line from The Simpsons—