The Historical Development of Communicative Competence: From Hymes to Celce-Murcia

Communicative competence is fundamental to effective language use because successful communication requires more than grammatical knowledge. This theoretical article traces the development of the construct from Hymes’s sociolinguistic formulation through the models of Canale and Swain, Canale, Celce-Murcia, Dörnyei and Thurrell, and Celce-Murcia’s 2007 revision. Using theoretical review and comparative analysis, the study shows a gradual movement toward increasingly detailed and instruction-oriented frameworks. Particular attention is given to Celce-Murcia’s revised model, which comprises sociocultural, discourse, linguistic, formulaic, interactional, and strategic competence and offers a useful basis for syllabus design and communicative classroom activities.