Skip to main content
linguistic competence

linguistic competence

8.0
Knowledge of a language's grammar and rules that a speaker has but may not show when they speak
  • noun
  • /lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪk ˈkɒmpɪtəns/
  • Specialized
translation icon : competencia lingüística
  • Communicative competence consists of not only linguistic competence, but also sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competences.
  • lack of linguistic competence

Examples

  • As children's early years are generally the sensitive period for language development, adults have to do all they can to assist children in acquiring linguistic competence (e.g., involve children in storytelling activities during bedtime).

    Academic text (2008)
  • Linguistic competence is essential for mastering the linguistic competence of a language.

  • In addition, more intense education developing linguistic competence, community building, and advocacy skills would help social workers meet these new challenges in the field.

    Academic text (2008)
  • There has been a remarkable decline in both communicative and linguistic competence among secondary school learners.

    Academic text (2012)
  • We don't even know exactly which part of our brains directs our linguistic competence, not to say how to activate it.

    Blog text (26)
  • Their linguistic competence varied between monolingualism in Spanish and Maya-Spanish bilingualism.

    Academic text (2017)
  • It will assist secondary school students in striking a meaningful balance between linguistic competence and communicative competence.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Second, there was a strong relationship between accuracy (Bortolini & Leonard, 2000), intelligibility (Orsolini, 2002), and general linguistic competence.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The paper examines issues of the role grammar plays in second language learning, linguistic competence as part of communicative competence, the benefits of explicit grammar instruction, and grammar as a catalyst for second language accuracy and fluency.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Teachers aim to enhance students' linguistic competence through structured language exercises.

Surface Forms

Morphology

linguistic + competence

The phrase transparently combines 'linguistic' (about language) and 'competence' (knowledge/ability), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer a general meaning like 'knowledge or ability regarding language.' However, the technical linguistic sense (an implicit grammatical knowledge distinct from performance) is specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Linguistic competence combines linguistic, meaning 'about language', and competence, meaning 'ability'. Think of it as a quiet toolkit in your head that holds the grammar rules you know even if you do not always use them, and that's why linguistic competence means the 'hidden knowledge' of language, not the 'actual use' when you speak or write.