Political and systemic factors are intensified through the extreme dysjunction between the Yolŋu and biomedical discourse systems.
Click here for a summary of the different ways in which Balanda and Yolŋu talk about about renal issues.
This dysjunction goes beyond differences in language and includes the
many other dimensions of communication which interact in complex ways
in these encounters.
The cultural distance between most Balanda staff and Yolŋu clients (in
terms of ideology, socialisation, knowledge systems, individual life experiences
etc.) is a major barrier to effective communication.
Language differences interact with these cultural influences to create major challenges in communication, particularly in terms of: