I remember one of my linguistic professors at Cornell discussing how the tongue was an organ of the body with significance, like our liver or heart. When I looked up a list of organs of the body, I saw the brain, lungs, liver, bladder, kidneys, heart, stomach, and intestines, but, in one list, no tongue.
However, another website told me there are 78 organs in the human body and
categorizes them into major ones, internal ones (solid and hollow), and even the tongue. Scientists also have discovered a new organ, hiding in plain sight. It is called the “interstitium,” which is so recent that my Word dictionary does not recognize it. This new organ is filled with fluid and aids in the diagnosis and spreading of cancer.
Our heaviest organ is the liver and the first one to shut down upon dying is not the brain, but the digestive system. This is because in the last few weeks before death the energy it uses goes elsewhere. No wonder dying people aren’t hungry and don’t eat much.
The brain, heart, and lungs are our most important organs. Although the heart and lungs have been transplanted in humans, no one has had a brain transplant, although it may become possible and necessary for some politicians.
That takes me back to wondering if the tongue is an organ. An online dictionary definition of a body organ is “a group of tissues that work together to perform a specific function of the body,” which would certainly include the tongue. It is composed of eight muscles that are used in speech, taste, breathing, and digestion (chewing).
When I studied phonology in linguistics, I learned how the tongue is used to help form speech. It may be the tip of the tongue, its back, or something in between. The tongue, mouth cavity, nasal cavity, larynx, and teeth work together to form sounds.
The “tongue” may also refer to our spoken language, as in our “mother tongue,” which is our native or first language. A “broken tongue” may be a lost dialect.
We have many English idioms that refer to the tongue. Here are a few of them:
· Has the cat got your tongue?: a person who is not saying much
· A slip of the tongue: saying something you didn’t mean to
· Tongue twister: something that is hard to say
· Bite your tongue: keep yourself from saying something
· Forked tongue: someone is speaking in a dishonest or deceitful way
· Have a sharp tongue: someone is highly critical
· Get a tongue-lashing: someone is speaking angrily
· Tongue in cheek: you are not serious about something
· Have something on the tip of your tongue: you can’t quite say something
· Tongue tied: when one is incapable or has difficulty speaking
· Hold your tongue: to refrain from speaking
In the Bible, James includes a section on “the tongue,” in which he begins by talking to teachers. They have power over their students or listeners by virtue of their speech and are significant in formulating their thoughts.
Paul also warns about the tongue in Romans 3.13, where he says “Their words are like an open pit, and their [Jews as well as Gentiles] tongues are good only for telling lies. Each word is as deadly as the fangs of a snake….”
Have you ever had a “tongue-lashing”? You probably won’t forget it if you did and it may have been difficult to “hold your tongue,” rather than responding. The tongue is a common vehicle for metaphor, as in a “runaway tongue.”
Most of my shoes have a tongue as well and sometimes they seem to talk to my knees and tell me to slow down.
The tongue becomes an important symbol in our speech and communication but also reveals something about our state of health. The doctor or nurse may tell us to stick out our tongue, although that would normally be considered rude. However, when examined. If it is white or yellow, it may indicate poor hygiene, or, in rare cases, it may have fungi growing on it. Be especially cautious if you have a “black hairy tongue” or “geographic tongue,” and also xerostomia (I had to look that up!).
Much more could be said, but that is enough lip about the tongue.
Karl Franklin
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