Linguistic Linguistic competence and competence and

performanceperformance

By By 王哲君 李萍 王哲君 李萍 黄 黄

丽茵 程粉香丽茵 程粉香Class 0207

What are linguistic competence and

performance?

According to Chomsky, According to Chomsky, competencecompetence is the ideal is the ideal speaker/hearer, i.e. an speaker/hearer, i.e. an idealized but not a real idealized but not a real person who would have a person who would have a complete knowledge of complete knowledge of language. This means a language. This means a person’s ability to create person’s ability to create and understand sentences, and understand sentences, including sentences they including sentences they have never heard before.have never heard before.

Performance is the actual use of the language by individuals in speech and writing.

Act 1Act 1 Place Place : : in the classroomin the classroom

Teacher Huang LiyinTeacher Huang Liyin HattieHattie Li PingLi Ping

Five minutes Five minutes later…later…

VERYVERY

VERY

VERY

VERYVERYVERY VERY

VERYVERY

►Speakers’ linguistic Speakers’ linguistic knowledge permits them to knowledge permits them to form longer and longer form longer and longer sentences by joining sentences by joining sentences and phases sentences and phases together or adding modifiers together or adding modifiers to a noun. whether you stop to a noun. whether you stop at three, five or eighteen at three, five or eighteen adjectives, it is impossible to adjectives, it is impossible to limit the number you could limit the number you could add if desired. Very long add if desired. Very long sentences are theoretically sentences are theoretically possible, but they are highly possible, but they are highly improbable.improbable.

►Evidently, there is a Evidently, there is a difference between difference between having the knowledge having the knowledge necessary to produce necessary to produce sentences of a language, sentences of a language, and applying this and applying this knowledge. It is a knowledge. It is a difference between what difference between what you know, which is your you know, which is your linguistic competence, linguistic competence, and how you use this and how you use this knowledge in actual knowledge in actual speech production and speech production and comprehension, which is comprehension, which is your linguistic your linguistic performance.performance.

When we speak, we usually wish to conveWhen we speak, we usually wish to convey some message. At some stage in the act y some message. At some stage in the act of producing speech, we must organize oof producing speech, we must organize our thoughts into strings of words. Sometiur thoughts into strings of words. Sometimes the message is garbled. We may stames the message is garbled. We may stammer, or pause, or produce slips of the tmmer, or pause, or produce slips of the tongue. We may even sound like the baby, ongue. We may even sound like the baby, who illustrates the difference between liwho illustrates the difference between linguistic knowledge and the way we use tnguistic knowledge and the way we use that knowledge in performance.hat knowledge in performance.

The apple The apple looks looks

lovely…lovely…It must It must be be

delicioudelicious…s…

I want to I want to eat it…eat it…

Apple Apple want!!want!!

GleitmanGleitman

Professor of Professor of Psychology.Psychology. He He once recorded once recorded a talk between a talk between a seven year a seven year old girl and her old girl and her mothermother..

Act 2Act 2

Mother---------- Huang LiyinMother---------- Huang LiyinLittle girl----Cheng FenxiangLittle girl----Cheng FenxiangProfessor----------Li PingProfessor----------Li Ping

Linguistic competence of native Linguistic competence of native languagelanguage One can recognize wOne can recognize w

hether the word belonhether the word belongs to his native langugs to his native language.age.

e.g. Slipe.g. Slip slib slib sbillsbill

****

Linguistic competence of native Linguistic competence of native languagelanguage

►He also can know thHe also can know the morphology, such e morphology, such as prefix, suffix.as prefix, suffix.

e.g. Re-cuddlee.g. Re-cuddle nonderiveablenonderiveable en-rich-enen-rich-en**

Linguistic competence of native Linguistic competence of native languagelanguage

►He can distinguish He can distinguish sentence and non-sentence and non-sentences.sentences.

e.g. The accident was seen e.g. The accident was seen by thousands.by thousands.

The accident was The accident was looked by thousands.looked by thousands.

**

Linguistic competence of native Linguistic competence of native languagelanguage

►He can distinguish some He can distinguish some sentences which have the sentences which have the same structure but the same structure but the different meanings.different meanings.

e.g. The cow was found by e.g. The cow was found by the stream.the stream.

The cow was found by The cow was found by the farmer.the farmer.

Linguistic competence of native Linguistic competence of native languagelanguage

►He can know some He can know some sentences with different sentences with different structure, but related structure, but related meanings.meanings.

e.g. The police examined e.g. The police examined the bullet.the bullet.

The bullet was The bullet was examined by the police.examined by the police.

The dispute about the The dispute about the derivation of linguistic derivation of linguistic

competencecompetenceProduced by the influence of Produced by the influence of

the environment.the environment.

Produced by both influence of Produced by both influence of the environment and human the environment and human inherent ability.inherent ability.

It is the human inherent ability.It is the human inherent ability.

语言能力

语言以外的因素

语言运用机制

语义 句法 语音

大脑机制

语言使用 产生

理解

The end^_^