"The motto is: !ke e: /xarra //ke, written in the Khoisan language of the /Xam people, literally meaning: diverse people unite.  It addresses each individual effort  to harness the unity between thought and action.  On a collective scale, it calls for the nation to unite in a common sense of belonging and national pride - Unity in Diversity."

www.gov.za/symbols/coatofarms.htm

The Motto

 It is appropriate that the motto “Unity in Diversity” is given in an extinct language,  /XAM,  as this places focus on the languages of South Africa.  Nowhere is the diversity of South Africa more evident than in the fact that we have 11 official languages.  The 5 most used are highlighted.

In addition to these languages, there are  many others recorded, of which 3 are extinct.  Further reading at http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Sout.html

 While diversity in languages is recognised and the Constitution protects a person’s  right to be taught in his mother tongue, it is not yet practicable to do so in all cases.  People of different languages are therefore encouraged to familiarise themselves with the other languages.  An annual Language Day has been celebrated since 1997, with events such as multilingual crossword puzzles and getting people to greet each other in a different language.

!KE E : /XARRA //KE

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