When people try to be aware of language differences

We were trying to work out whether Aboriginal people tend to understand ‘relatives’ or ‘relations’ better. I had heard non-Indigenous people mention that Indigenous people say ‘relations’ or even ‘lations’ rather than ‘relatives’, but I had never heard an Indigenous person use the term. Dave and I were checking the translation with a young Aboriginal man, and when Dave asked him what ‘relations’ meant, he said, "Sometimes the police say that. ‘Is he your relation?’" He explained that the police mean ‘family’ or ‘relative’, but it wasn’t something he would ever say. The poor police are obviously trying to use words that they think people will understand better, but this man only knew the word from the police! Presumably some Indigenous people actually do, or did, use the term, but not so much in Arnhem Land.

Please pray that police, teachers, health workers and others will be aware of the language barriers that many Indigenous Australians face. Just the other day I heard about a man nearly being discharged from hospital when he was seriously ill because he did not understand the questions he was being asked.