This guide explains the main themes in New Tongue, the poem by Sierra Leonean poet Elizabeth Kamara. In it, a speaker watches young Africans trade their language, elders and traditions for borrowed foreign ways. Each theme below comes with stanza and line references, so you can support your answers in class and in the exam.

Line numbers follow the official WAEC text, which has five stanzas and 46 lines. New to the poem? Start with the stanza-by-stanza summary, then come back to this page.

1. Loss of cultural identity

Of all the themes in New Tongue, the loss of identity matters most. The young generation speaks a new tongue and dances new dances, while the old songs fade into forgotten dreams.

Language carries culture, so abandoning the mother tongue means losing much more than words. By the end, the young lock their culture away completely.

2. Western influence and borrowed culture

Kamara stresses that the new ways do not belong to the young. She calls their language and culture borrowed, and she even gives them borrowed shoes and borrowed minds.

Many readers link this to colonialism and modern globalisation, which spread foreign languages, fashions and values across Africa. Borrowed things, however, never become fully your own.

3. The generation gap and disrespect for elders

In traditional African society, elders hold wisdom and deserve honour. Here, the young neither care for nor revere the old.

Elders have no room at all, not even at the edge of young minds. Their ears stay closed to the old language and ways of doing things.

4. Breakdown of family and communal ties

Family and friendship once held communities together. In the poem, those ties loosen, break and finally burn to ashes.

Nobody tries to rescue them. Just as fishes swim past the scattered ashes, careless of the loss, the young feel no grief for what they have destroyed.

5. Individualism and selfishness

Communal living gives way to a self-centred lifestyle. The minds of the young turn only inwards, like the inside of clothing that touches nothing but its wearer.

The pattern every man for himself, by himself and of himself shows people living alone and caring only about their own needs.

6. Social disorder

Abandoning tradition brings coldness and chaos. The speaker describes a strange chill settling over society, like snow on a mountain.

She then pictures a violent storm. Wind knocks down trees, carries off roofs and whirls debris through the air. Without its cultural roots, society loses its shelter and stability.

7. Irreversible change

The poem ends with a sense of finality. Long ago, the young crossed their own Red Sea, so the way back has closed behind them.

Hanging the last lock on their culture, they glide into the future without a backward glance. For the speaker, this loss appears permanent.

How to write about themes in New Tongue

A good theme answer does three things. First, name the theme clearly. Next, point to the stanza and lines that show it. Finally, explain what that evidence reveals about the young generation or the speaker’s attitude.

Avoid simply retelling the poem, because examiners reward explanation. For practice, try our New Tongue questions and answers. To see how Kamara’s language supports these ideas, read our guide to the poetic devices in the poem.

For everything about the poem in one place, visit the complete study guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main theme of New Tongue?

The loss of cultural identity, as young Africans abandon their language and traditions for borrowed foreign ways.

How many themes in New Tongue should I know for WAEC?

Know at least four or five well, with line references for each. The seven on this page cover everything you are likely to need.

Is the poem against learning foreign languages?

Not exactly. It criticises abandoning one’s own language and culture completely, not learning something new.

Does the poem offer any hope?

Very little. It ends with the young moving into the future without a backward glance.