Summary
Highlights
Noam Chomsky introduced the terms competence and performance in his 1965 book, 'Aspects of the Theory of Syntax', establishing them as foundational concepts in linguistics.
In a general sense, competence refers to the quality of being skillful, knowledgeable, and possessing the required capacity or qualifications to perform effectively in a specific field.
Linguistic competence refers to a native speaker's internal knowledge of their language system. It is the biological and cognitive potential that allows an individual to generate and comprehend grammatical sentences endlessly.
Chomsky’s linguistic competence is closely related to Ferdinand de Saussure’s concept of 'langue'. Both describe an abstract, shared system of rules or knowledge stored within the minds of speakers in a community.