While ancient Indian and Chinese theological and philosophical thought included significant reflections on the nature of mind, language, and logic, and Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian scribes kept vocabulary lists and translation manuals, European linguistics and philosophy of language are rooted in ancient Greek philosophy. Greek philosophers were the first to record generalizations about language that included reflections on the nature and sources of the meaning of natural language (Law, 2003: 14). Pre-Socratic writings already contain fragmentary reflections on linguistic meaning. Heraclitus distinguishes between speech and action and maintains that intelligible speech must be law-governed just as a city-state needs strong laws (Freeman, 1983: 24 and 32). Parmenides identifies empty names, for example “Becoming,” because only Being exists, and human beings should not have “established the custom” of using such names (Freeman, 1983: 44).