Early and modern grammarians will disagree on the statement that says: Every known language first appeared in written form.

• A. Every known language first appeared in spoken form
• B. Every known language first appeared in written form
• C. All languages have a universal grammar
• D. Syntax determines meaning

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how language and writing relate in history: spoken language comes first as a natural human ability, and writing is a later development used to record what is spoken. The claim that every known language first appeared in written form runs against that pattern. Linguists and historians widely argue that languages existed orally long before anyone started writing them, and writing systems developed to capture those spoken languages, not to precede them. Because of that, scholars—both earlier grammarians and modern ones—tfind this statement debatable or unlikely, which is why this is the point of disagreement in the question. The other ideas move away from the historical sequence of language and writing, so they don’t center on this particular debate.