The document discusses the origins and evolution of the concept of communicative competence. It began with Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance. Hymes later argued competence must account for social and cultural factors. He coined the term "communicative competence" to refer to knowledge needed for effective communication. Further researchers like Canale and Swain, and Bachman, expanded on the concept to include grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competencies. Communicative competence is now understood as the combination of knowledge and abilities required to communicate appropriately in social contexts.