Hearing the Voices: Embracing Diversity in the Study of Language in Society

ABSTRACT<br/>We have all heard or read about “embracing diversity” in our professions, but what does this look like in practice? In this pre- sentation, we will take you on a journey through our First Nations- led collaboration to study Australian Aboriginal English, an Indigenised variety of English spoken by approximately 80% of First Nations people in Australia (Rodríguez Louro &amp; Collard, 2020, 2021a, b). Our sociolinguistic research into Aboriginal English as spoken in Nyungar country, Southwest Western Australia allowed us to record and analyse the way that people use language in everyday contexts. Our use of “yarning” as a method of data collec- tion made it possible to engage with community in a culturally safe fashion (Rodríguez Louro &amp; Collard, 2021c). We also applied a diversity lens when we worked with the Heart Foundation to deco- lonise medical media for First Nations communities (Collard &amp; Rodríguez Louro, Submitted; Rodríguez Louro &amp; Collard, 2021d). In this presentation, we demonstrate how working together can ensure that we “hear the voices” of those at the margins of main- stream practice and how, with every minute decision in the right direction, we can make the world a better place.