Competence and Performance (Towards an Integrative View of the Competence–Performance Dichotomy in Linguistics)

Abstract

occupied modern and contemporary linguistic thought: the dichotomy of competence and performance, as it came to be formalized within generative-transformational linguistics. The study traces the intellectual roots of this dichotomy in Western linguistic thought since Saussure then in Chomsky, who established it as a theoretical foundation of modern linguistics, while also examining its counterparts in the classical Arabic linguistic tradition through the concept of "linguistic aptitude" (Al-Malaka). The paper further discusses the dialectical nature of the relationship between competence and performance, the limits of this distinction, and the criticism it has received, which led to broader concepts such as "communicative competence." The study concludes that competence and performance are complementary facets of the linguistic phenomenon that cannot be separated, and that a sound scientific understanding of language requires considering both together rather than in isolation from one another.