National Symbols
The vast majority of Tunisians are Arab/Berber (98%) followed by European (1%) and Jewish (1%). The most spoken language is Arabic, but the dialect is Tunisian Arabic. Other minor languages include French and Shelha. Mediterranean Lingua Franca and Sened are languages that are not spoken anymore. National identity is strong and Tunisian efforts to create a national culture have proved stronger than in the nineteenth century. National culture and heritage is constantly referred to with reference to the country's modern history, in particular, the fight against the French protectorate and the construction of the modern state that followed from the 1950s. This is celebrated through national holidays, in the names of streets recalling historical figures or key dates or the subject of films or documentaries. With the start of the rule of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on November 7, 1987, the official reference to the figure 7 and the theme of "Change" contributes to the perpetuation of that tradition.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Tunisia
Famous quotes containing the words national and/or symbols:
“We want, and must have, a national policy, as to slavery, which deals with it as being wrong.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“I do not deny that there may be other well-founded causes for the hatred which various classes feel toward politicians, but the main one seems to me that politicians are symbols of the fact that every class must take every other class into account.”
—José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955)