Competence (linguistics)
The linguistic competence , also linguistic knowledge as opposed to the language ability ( performance ), is on the one hand
- part of the general cognitive skills, which are based on conceptualization, pattern recognition and categorization and
- on the other hand, the ability to formulate the content of a statement grammatically , orthographically and syntactically correctly and
- the ability to express oneself adequately in a social context .
“The ability to speak is a central component of the human cognitive system. Your research provides insights into the nature of cognitive representations and the processing of extra-linguistic reality. "
Competence and performance
Noam Chomsky's distinction between competence as a general language ability and performance as an individual use of language is linked to the Saussure dichotomy of langue and parole .
In this context, linguistic competence includes the following skills:
- With a finite inventory of elements (sounds, words) and linkage rules, a speaker can produce a basically infinite number of different utterances in the context of performance.
- With the linguistic knowledge acquired, a listener can understand utterances that he has never heard before and, despite certain differences (e.g. in pronunciation), identify utterances that are equivalent as such.
- Speakers / listeners can evaluate linguistic utterances with regard to their grammaticality , ambiguity and paraphrase relationships.
communicative competence
In a broader sense, linguistic competence also includes expressing oneself appropriately according to the respective frame of reference and that is, choosing a form that is reasonable or understandable for the respective participants in the verbal communication (e.g. not in jargon or on a high-level utterance Dialect ) and also: to take into account the meta-communicative context (e.g. to react accordingly to an apparently humorous or satirical utterance).
See also
- Competence - disambiguation page
- Psycholinguistics - the science of human language ability and a branch of linguistics.
literature
- Rüdiger Ahrens : Language skills as part of education. In: Winfried Böhm , Martin Lindauer (ed.): “Not much knowledge saturates the soul”. Knowledge, recognition, education, training today. (= Third Symposium of the University of Würzburg. ) Ernst Klett, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-12-984580-1 , pp. 147-182.
- Hadumod Bußmann : Lexicon of Linguistics (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 452). 2nd completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-520-45202-2 .
- Günter Grewendorf, Fritz Hamm, Wolfgang Sternefeld (1998): Linguistic knowledge. An introduction to modern theories of grammatical description . 10th edition. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a. M.
- Heidrun Pelz (1996): Linguistics. An introduction . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Language development . ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. informatik.uni-hamburg.de
