The Greeks were the first in Europe to systematically study language in the 5th-4th centuries BC. They explored fundamental questions about the origin, structure, and nature of language that still occupy linguists today. A small group of influential Greek thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, established the foundations of fields like grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. They debated whether language was governed by nature or social convention. Plato argued language had a natural connection to what it signifies in his dialogue Cratylus. The Greeks' novel way of examining language laid the groundwork for linguistic study in Western civilization.