Linguistic competence refers to a person's innate ability to understand and produce language. It encompasses knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and the rules that govern how words and sentences are formed. This competence allows individuals to communicate effectively, even if they may not always use language perfectly in practice. The concept was popularized by linguist Noam Chomsky, who distinguished between linguistic competence and performance. While competence is about the idealized knowledge of language, performance involves how people actually use language in real-life situations, which can be influenced by various factors like memory and social context.