The linguistic status of creole languages is such a controversial issue that it seems reasonable to devote two contributions to the topic in this volume. While both take for granted the basic conceptions of generative grammar, they could not differ more in their conclusions. Derek Bickerton, in his ‘Creole languages and the bioprogram’ (Chapter 14.1), develops further the hypothesis with which he has long been associated, namely that Creoles provide the most direct window possible into the properties of universal grammar. For Bickerton, such languages point directly to our biological capacity to recreate language should the normal generation-to-generation means for doing so break down. Pieter Muysken's ‘Are Creoles a special type of language?’ (Chapter 14.11), however, questions whether the notion ‘creole language’ is anything more than a sociological epiphenomenon, devoid of special significance to grammatical theory. In Chapter 14.111, ‘A dialogue concerning the linguistic status of creole languages,’ Bickerton and Muysken engage in a spirited confrontation, challenging the conclusions of each other's chapters.