Aspects of communicative competence

1- Introduction 
Communicative competence is a concept introduced by Dell Hymes and
discussed and redefined by many authors. Hymes' original idea was that
speakers of a language have to have more than grammatical competence in
order to be able communicate effectively in a language; they also need to
know how language is used by members of a speech community to
accomplish their purposes.
The modules in this section identify eight aspects of communicative
competence. They are grouped together in two groups of four:

2- Linguistic aspects 
• Phonology and orthography
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Discourse (textual)

3- Pragmatic aspects 
• Functions
• Variations
• Interactional skills
• Cultural framework

I- Linguistic aspects of communicative competence

I-1- Introduction 
The linguistics aspects of communicative competence are those that have to
do with achieving an internalized functional knowledge of the elements and
structures of the language.

I-2- What is phonological competence? 

I-2-1 Definition
Phonological competence is the ability to recognize and produce the distinctive
meaningful sounds of a language, including:
• consonants
• vowels
• tone patterns
• intonation patterns
• rhythm patterns
• stress patterns
• any other suprasegmental features that carry meaning
Related to phonological competence is orthographic competence, or the ability
to decipher and write the writing system of a language. 

Example
In Korean there are three kinds of velar stops: aspirated, fortis and lenis. It is
important to be able to distinguish these sounds, because there are a number
of different words that are pronounced the same, except for the difference in
these stops. It is also important to be able to pronounce these consonants
correctly so that Korean speakers can tell which word the language learner
means.

I-3- What is grammatical competence?

I-3- 1- Definition

Grammatical competence is the ability to recognize and produce the distinctive

grammatical structures of a language and to use them effectively in
communication.

I-3- 2- Discussion
Grammatical competence as defined by Noam Chomsky would include
phonological competence. 
Examples

Learners of French need to learn to understand the different time references

of sets of words such as je partais, je parte, je parterai, and to be able to
make appropriate time reference when speaking or writing.

I-4- What is lexical competence?

I-4- 1- Definition
Lexical competence is the ability to recognize and use words in a language in
the way that speakers of the language use them. Lexical competence includes
understanding the different relationships among families of words and the
common collocations of words.

Example
Learners learning English need to be able to recognize the concept of chair
and what makes it different from a stool, a sofa, or a bench. They also need
to know that a chair is a piece of furniture, and that there are various kinds of
chairs, including easy chairs, deck chairs, office chairs, rocking chairs and so
on. They also need to understand how chair is now used in an extended sense
for what used to be termed a chairman, especially when referring to a woman,
as in Julie Wright is the chair of the committee. 

1-5- What is discourse competence (textual)?

1-5-1 Definition

Discourse competence is used to refer to two related, but distinct abilities.

Textual discourse competence refers to the ability to understand and construct
monologues or written texts of different genres, such as narratives, procedural
texts, expository texts, persuasive (hortatory) texts, descriptions and others.
These discourse genres have different characteristics, but in each genre there
are some elements that help make the text coherent, and other elements
which are used to make important points distinctive or prominent. 

Learning a language involves learning how to relate these different types of

discourse in such a way that hearers or readers can understand what is going
on and see what is important. Likewise it involves being able to relate
information in a way that is coherent to the readers and hearers.

Note: Many authors use the term discourse to refer to conversational

interaction, so that discourse competence could also refer to the ability to
participate effectively in conversations. In the Language Learning Bookshelf
conversational interaction is considered a part of interactional competence.

Example
Consider the following short discourse in English:
Once upon a time there was an old woman named Mother Hubbard, who had
a dearly-loved dog named Bowser. Mother Hubbard was very poor and didn't
always have enough food for herself and her pet. 

One day Bowser came running up and barked hopefully to show his mistress
how hungry he was. Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor
doggie a bone, because she felt sorry for him. But when she got to the
cupboard it was bare, and so poor Bowser went hungry.

1-5-2- Discussion
This story starts with the phrase Once upon a time, which tells us that it is a
fairy tale. The first paragraph goes on to introduce the two characters: Mother
Hubbard and Bowser. 
It also tells us the background information we need to know about Mother
Hubbard. Even though this is such a short story we need to keep track of the
two participants and the props: the cupboard and the bone. Note the words
used to refer to Mother Hubbard: an old woman, herself, his mistress, she and
those used to refer to Bowser: a dearly-loved dog, her pet, her poor doggie,
him, poor Bowser.

The second paragraph starts with the words One day, which introduce an
event we expect to be important. (In fact, it is the only episode in our story!)
This episode has three main events: 

• Bowser ran up and barked hopefully

• Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard
• The cupboard was bare
There is also some further information in subordinate clauses, which are linked
to the main clauses by words that show the relationship between them: 

• to show his mistress how hungry he was tells us the purpose for which
Bowser barked.
• because she felt sorry for him tells us the reason why Mother Hubbard went
to the cupboard.
• to get her poor doggie a bone tells us the purpose of going to the cupboard.
• and so poor Bowser went hungry tells us the result of the cupboard being
bare.

The words But when she got there introduce the climax of the story: She
expected the bone to be there, but it wasn't so poor Bowser went hungry.

So even in a short story such as this, we can identify cohesive and prominence
elements in an English narrative text. Children learn intuitively as they are
learning English, but adult learners may be helped by conscious attention to
such elements.

II- Pragmatic aspects of communicative competence

II- Pragmatic aspects of communicative competence

II- Pragmatic aspects of communicative competence

II- 1- Introduction 

The pragmatic aspects of communicative competence are those that have to do with how
language is used in communication situations to achieve the speaker's purposes.

II-2-What is functional competence?

II-2-1 Definition

Functional competence refers to the ability to accomplish communication purposes in a

language. There are a number of different kinds of purposes for which people commonly use
language. 
Examples
Greeting people is one purpose for which we use language. What we actually say in English
could be Good morning, Hi, How ya doin, or Yo, depending on who we are and who we are
talking to.

II-3- What is sociolinguistic competence?

II-3-1 Definition
Sociolinguistic competence is the ability to interpret the social meaning of the choice of
linguistic varieties and to use language with the appropriate social meaning for the
communication situation.
Note: Sociolinguistics is a very broad discipline and the term sociolinguistic competence
could be used much more broadly than it is here, where we have restricted its use to refer to
the recognition and use of appropriate varieties of language. 
Examples
When greeting someone in a very formal situation an American might say, Hello, how are
you? or Nice to see you again, but if he were meeting a friend in an informal situation it
would be much more appropriate to say Hi, or Hey, whatcha been doing?
II-4- What is interactional competence?

I-4-1 Definition
Interactional competence involves knowing and using the mostly-unwritten rules for
interaction in various communication situations within a given speech community and
culture. It includes, among other things, knowing how to initiate and manage conversations
and negotiate meaning with other people. It also includes knowing what sorts of body
language, eye contact, and proximity to other people are appropriate, and acting
accordingly. 
Examples

A conversation with a checker at the check-out line in a grocery store in the US or England
shouldn't be very personal or protracted, as the purpose of the conversation is mainly a
business transaction and it would be considered inappropriate to make the people further
back in the queue wait while a customer and the checker have a social conversation. Other
cultures have different rules of interaction in a market transaction.
II-5- What is cultural competence?

II-5-1- Definition
Cultural competence is the ability to understand behavior from the standpoint of the
members of a culture and and to behave in a way that would be understood by the members
of the culture in the intended way. Cultural competence therefore involves understanding all
aspects of a culture, but particularly the social structure, the values and beliefs of the
people, and the way things are assumed to be done.
Examples
It is impossible to speak Korean or Japanese correctly without understanding the social
structure of the respective societies, because that structure is reflected in the endings of
words and the terms of address and reference that must be used when speaking to or about
other people.