ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of misunderstanding of Aboriginal English ways of speaking in this disadvantage, drawing on specific cases. It examines how Aboriginal English ways of speaking have been misunderstood in the legal process, highlighted in a brief outline of a particular case, known as the Kina case. The chapter shows how the disadvantage which results from this misunderstanding has begun to be addressed. The chapter presents a case study, which shows how knowledge of cultural differences in ways of speaking can be used to achieve misunderstanding. It demonstrates some background about Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system, and about Aboriginal English, the language variety spoken by most Aboriginal people in their dealings with the law. The chapter focuses on two particular language forms which are central to the analysis of the regular communication failure between speakers of Aboriginal English and speakers of Standard Australian English in the legal system: silence and gratuitous concurrence.
