In Noam Chomsky's linguistic theory, linguistic competence refers to the innate, unconscious knowledge that enables individuals to produce and understand an infinite number of sentences in their native language. This concept is central to his theory of generative grammar, which posits that humans possess an inherent "universal grammar"—a set of structural rules common to all languages .​Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy+2Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre+2Wikipedia+2The New Yorker+2Wikipedia+2Structural Learning+2

Chomsky distinguishes between competence and performance. While competence is the internalized knowledge of language rules, performance is the actual use of language in concrete situations, which can be influenced by various factors such as memory limitations or distractions .​Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre+4Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre+4StudyCorgi+4UMC+1Wikipedia+1

It's important to note that Chomsky's concept of competence is distinct from communicative competence, a term introduced by sociolinguist Dell Hymes. Communicative competence encompasses not only grammatical knowledge but also the ability to use language appropriately in different social contexts .​UMC

In summary, within Chomskyan linguistics, linguistic competence is the mental representation of grammatical knowledge, enabling individuals to generate and comprehend language, independent of actual language use or social context.