Recently, I thought I caught an autocorrect-type error in a discussion of an important (English) press release from a French company. The quote is about the latest Volvo Ocean Racer V60 for team Charal.
"The Charaaal [sic] came out of construction this Tuesday, August 21, 2018 in port-LA-Forêt.
In the presence of all the teams involved - the Charal sailing team, its partner Charal,
the architects of vplp, the teams teams - until no more training than a united group which, behind the doors of cdk technologies, worked hard during Almost 12 months in perfect osmosis.
This appears to be a quote from Jérémie Beyou, the new boat's skipper. Presumably translated from French.
I thought this was pretty funny since osmosis, when talking about boats, means only one thing to me — gel coat blistering, a sort of hull degradation cancer.
When I mentioned this on a boater's forum, I got some responses saying it is the normal way to say it in French, and is also used this way in English in Australia.
[...] But auto correct strikes again? From the first link - "worked hard during Almost 12 months in perfect osmosis." I'm pretty sure that's not what they meant to say. (me)
"En parfaite osmose" is a French common expression to describe the functioning of a team and I think the best translation is "in perfect harmony". (Dolfiman)
Erm, so what do the French attribute gelcoat blistering to? Really, someone ought to clue them in that osmosis has basically one literal meaning in English, and any metaphorical extensions are both informal and off the mark. Symbiosis has the metaphorical sense they want and isn't informal, but it still sounds a bit off, and isn't all that common either. (me)
I can confirm you that "osmose" is also the french name for osmosis as regard its first meaning. And osmosis of GRP hull is also a matter of concern, here is a complete overview of the subject by Gerard Boulant, a full time expert on this issue, you can click on each blue texts to have the pdf of all the chapters :{snip} (Dolfiman)
Down here in Oz we use osmosis in the French way. (CT249)
So has osmosis begun to take over the metaphorical space that used to be owned by Symbiosis? None of the dictionaries I checked mentioned this meaning.
2 : a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups)
"Symbiosis." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2018.
Some examples of working in osmosis that I found —
2) State of affairs, brainstorming and prospecting
Our studies help understand the past to better visualize the future,
while accompanying you during your entire thought process:
grasping the brand’s patrimony, heritage and functioning crossing the
fundamentals with our knowledge of trends, markets and competition
working in osmosis with our clients, we aim to provide made-to-measure, unique work
http://www.edelkoort.com/consulting/
LE QUOTIDIEN, May 2010
Performing this score for the first time, the Luxembourg Philharmonic
Orchestra were led by the baton of the energetic Benjamin Pope....a
conductor working in osmosis with the dancers....
http://www.benpope.com/Site/Reviews.html
We have described strategic planning as a proactive and dynamic process, directed toward the culture of change working in osmosis
with its environment. It goes without saying that the process includes a determined and effective implementation.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4a8a/0fc080533322c23ecd7af2ec2d2b3fc56d9f.pdf
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