Nelson Mandela once said: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
When we make the effort to speak someone else's language, we are not just making a communicative effort, we are making a caring effort. We are saying: "It is important that you and I are able to understand each other. I am putting myself out of my comfort zone because I believe in building a relationship with you."
When we take an attentive approach towards language in the care system, we are saying to children and young people that we care about them - not because of our corporate parent duties, but because we recognise them as individuals who deserve compassion and respect and want to build positive relationships with them.
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