Video Above: Wiradjuri is being taught in NSW schools on country, and in central Sydney
In some remote First Nation communities around Australia, English is not spoken at all. In many others, Aboriginal English or Kriol may be their second, third or even fourth language. So, when it comes to legal and medical matters, interpreters can be a lifeline to the outside world.
While the marked rise of Indigenous interpreting services in the past two decades has been a cause for celebration, the service is not without its challenges.
Understandably, community elders have welcomed the prospect of being able to converse freely in languages they were once instructed not to speak by the government.
Young people are often reluctant to use interpreting services.
However, Annette Kogolo, Co-Chairperson at Aboriginal Interpreting WA (AIWA) and a NAATI-accredited interpreter tells Dateline that young people are often reluctant to use interpreting services because they’re embarrassed they can’t speak English as fluently as the interpreters. This matter is compounded by the remote community reality that interpreters are often related to their clients.
While the presence of a fellow community member can be a source of comfort for many clients in distressing situations, for others, if the interpreter is a close friend or family member, the situation can be fraught.
There have been situations where interpreters have believed that retribution may be brought upon them from fellow community members, should they be involved in sensitive cases.
As a result, AIWA actively warns people of the risks associated with tasking untrained friends or family to interpret for them. To this end, AIWA has an internal screening process that ensures impartiality in line with the profession’s AUSIT Code of Ethics.
For each assignment, AIWA requests information about a client which may include their gender, skin name, family name, community, age and topic of discussion. Interpreters are then provided with this information and details of the assignment, which enables them to decline if there is a perceived conflict of interest.
This makes them particularly prone to vicarious trauma.
Much like social workers, interpreters are often privy to the intimate details of domestic violence cases. This makes them particularly prone to vicarious trauma, so AIWA also provides staff with culturally-appropriate debriefing sessions.
It’s that 90 percent of the languages spoken around the world today will be lost within the next century as their last fluent speakers grow old and pass away.
But AIWA CEO Deanne Lightfoot is committed to playing her part keeping First Nations languages alive. “It’s a basic human right to understand and be understood in your first language.”
