1. Aristotle
Aristotle
(384-322 BC) [Classical Antiquity] The youngest of the three Greek giants of
philosophy. Aristotle — as opposed to Socrates and Plato — had wide scientific interests,
but he did not share the political concerns of the last mentioned to the same
degree. He was born in Macedonia and moved as a young man to Athens, later to
Assos in Asia Minor, back to Macedonia again (where he tutored Alexander the
Great). When the latter became king in 335 Aristotle moved back to Athens and
founded his own school there, the Lyceum, which was also known as the
peripatetic, or walking, school from the custom of its students of strolling
about the grounds. After the death of Alexander he retired to Euboea. Aristotle
was an adherent of the conventionalist view of language which is seen in his De
interpretatione where he stresses that language does not arise naturally but is
set by convention.
2. Panini
Panini
(fl. c.400 BC) [Classical Antiquity] An Indian grammarian, Panini is famous for
the grammar of Sanskrit, known as the Astadhyayi 'Eight Books' which is a
concise and aphoristic summary of the rules of phonology and morphology for
Sanskrit and which was intended to serve as a guide to the classical language
which then no longer corresponded to spoken forms. His work became known to
western scholars through the report by the British judge and amateur linguist
Sir William Jones in 1786. Panini is, together with the First Grammarian,
regarded as one of the few descriptive linguists before the advent of the
discipline of linguistics in the late 18th century.
3. Plato
Plato
(c.428-c.347 BC) is a Greek philosopher and one of the most influential
thinkers in Western philosophy. He was born in Athens of a noble family. He
became a disciple of Socrates and came to share his style of attaining truth by
questioning all accepted beliefs. In 387 Plato founded the Academy in Athens an
institution which resembled a university and where various branches of science
from astronomy to philosophy were taught. After Socrates death at the hands of
the Athenian authorities in 399 he left and travelled in the eastern
Mediterranean. He returned to Athens, however, and but for a few breaks
remained there for the remainder of his life. Plato is very versatile in his
writings and his significance for linguistics lies in his philosophy of
idealism and in his view that the spoken word is superior to the written word.
4. Socrates
Socrates
(470-399 BC) is a Greek philosopher, born near Athens as the son of a sculptor
and a midwife. He twice held public office although he was not interested in
gaining position. Accused of introducing new deities and corrupting youth he
was to be put to death but pre-empted this by taking hemlock. Socrates' great
influence on Western thought is through Plato whose teacher he was. Socrates
himself wrote nothing and all that is known about him comes from the dialogues
of Plato and the treatises of Xenophon in which he figures prominently. His
teachings seem to have been moral in the widest sense with the view that
science is most useful when it contributes to a knowledge of virtue. Socrates
is known as the permanent doubter deriving from his practice of questioning all
beliefs and assumptions.
5.Varro, Marcus Terentius
(116-27 BC) [Classical Antiquity] Roman scholar born of a noble family in
Sabine territory who served with Pompey in Spain (76 BC) and was later
reconciled with Caesar. Varro was a very prolific writer. His works amount to more
than 600 volumes and include some on philosophy, education, law, geography
apart from grammar. Little has survived, however; of his mammoth De lingua
latina, which originally comprised 25 volumes, 6 are extant (Books V-X). This
work is a systematic treatise on Latin grammar and deals with etymology,
morphology and syntax.
Source
: https://books.google.co.id/books?id=iKgf32qOkkwC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=the+linguists+in+the+classical+period&source=bl&ots=DQWOcQ_ysM&sig=rJZU4gAeIHXz7g6U5Z_fkHdxTyU&hl=id&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW1-bIn-PUAhXJrI8KHYXHBDgQ6AEIOTAC