Question: why and how does your tongue help you talk and swallow.

Kevin Motherway answered on 13 Nov 2014:

When you speak or sing you exhale air from your lungs and it passes through your vocal chords and you form notes and basically the “raw sound” of speech. That sound then travels up to you mouth and the muscles in your mouth most importantly your tongue then modify that “raw sound” to add detail like the sound of consonants and vowels. Think of it like trying to play a flute with no hands, sure you can blow into it and generate a noise, but you can’t change that “raw sound” into notes, pitch or melody that communicate something. Try speaking from your throat and keeping your lips and tongue completely still…..its nearly impossible to do.

It takes babies and kids quite a while to master the intricate movements of the tongue to be able to form the right sounds. A person who has an acquired brain injury from an accident or a stroke may lose the fine motor control of the tongue required and this clearly shows how important your tongue is to language.

In terms of swallowing its really you epiglottis is the important as this acts as a valve that ensures either your trachea (which allows air into your lungs) or your oesophagus (which leads to your stomach) is open at any one time. For the vast majority of time the epiglottis keeps your oesophagus closed and allows all the air from your mouth and nose to get to your lungs and out from your lungs to your mouth . When you swallow as food, liquid leaves your mouth your nervous system send the signal for you epiglottis to close the trachea and open the oesophagus to allow the food/drink down to your stomach. If you’re in a rush or absolutely stuffing your face and get out of breath, the epiglottis may not keep up and may not open/close the right opening in time and food may go down the Trachea and block the tube and stop the air supply to your longs and you can suffocate unless your lungs succeed in coughing (rapidly expelling air) to force the food out. Somebody have to do a Heimlich Manoeuvre on you basically squeezing your lungs up to force out the food (you’ve seen this in the movies I’m sure)

Great question!