Is Creolese the national language of Guyana? And what role should it play in the education system? A heated public debate on these questions has taken place in the media recently. There have been interesting comments from the usual suspects on both sides of the argument. The four writers of this article join hands across the university hierarchy and across three generations, to add their voices.

We begin with a glimpse into a testimony of verbal interaction in a 21st century primary school in Guyana inhabited by ordinary Guyanese children and their teacher: