Full Idea
Someone who does not understand German and is told 'Schnee ist weiss' is true if frozen H2O is white, does not understand the German sentence, even though he knows the truth-conditions.
Gist of Idea
We could know the truth-conditions of a foreign sentence without knowing its meaning
Source
Paul Horwich (Truth (2nd edn) [1990], Ch.5.22 n1)
Book Reference
Horwich,Paul: 'Truth (2nd edn)' [OUP 1998], p.69
A Reaction
This sounds like a powerful objection to Davidson's well-known claim that meaning is truth-conditions. Horwich likes the idea that meaning is use, but I think a similar objection arises - you can use a sentence well without knowing its meaning.