Just over a week ago, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs concluded the local observances of the International Year of Indigenous Languages with a debate in the village of Paramakatoi, in the Potaro-Siparuni region, where participants exchanged arguments in fluent Patamona.
The moot for the debate was “Indigenous languages hold tremendous benefits, not just for Indigenous peoples but for all Guyanese, hence it’s the responsibility of the government to ensure that the languages are preserved and promoted nationally.”
The proposition and opposition teams each consisted of three members, all of whom argued that all persons in Guyana should learn the languages of the Amerindian tribes in order to preserve them.