Everything You Need to Know about The Human Tongue

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.

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And I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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Think about a food you HATED as a child. You never wanted to eat it because it tasted terrible! But, when you grew up, you tried that food again. This time, you LOVED it! What changed? Why did the food taste so good when you were older? The answer to this question may be on the tip of your tongue. Today’s Spotlight is on the amazing human tongue.

See the Advanced version of this program here.

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The tongue is a muscle. It is like the muscles that move your arms or legs. However, the tongue is different in a big way. The tongue is not connected to any bones. It is a group of eight muscles that work together. This is what makes the tongue able to move and change shapes.

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The tongue’s flexiblity and movement help with eating, drinking, talking and singing. But it is the surface of the tongue that helps with taste. The tongue has taste receptors located all across its top. Many people believe that the surface of the tongue has different areas to taste different things. This is not exactly true. Erich Voigt is a doctor at NYU Langone Medical Center. He told the website MentalFloss.com,

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“Taste receptors are concentrated on the tip of your tongue – the front point. They are also along the sides and at the back. The middle of the tongue has the least taste ability. The idea that the tongue has different taste areas is a myth. There is no tongue map with different parts for different tastes. That idea is wrong. All taste areas are able to sense the five kinds of taste. These are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory.”

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So the tongue is a group of muscles that lets people taste different foods. But what is taste? And why do people taste things differently?

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For a long time, scientists thought there were four basic tastes. The first is salty. Salty foods are foods like french fries, soy sauce, olives, and chips. The next is sour foods. Sour foods are foods like lemons or yogurt. The third taste is sweet. Sweet foods are fruits, breads, and candy. The fourth taste is bitter. Bitter foods are foods like coffee, dark chocolate, and some spices.

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However, all people know that there are more than five tastes. And as science has advanced more tastes have been identified. Umami is the flavor of cooked meat. It is also sometimes called savory. Astringent foods make your mouth tighten. Pungent foods have a strong smell, such as mustard or ginger. These tastes were always part of foods. But people now use a new clearer way to talk about them.

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Every tongue is able to taste all of these things. However, every tongue tastes each kind of food at a different level. Some people may not like the taste of a sour lemon. Their tongue may be very sensitive to sour foods. So the sour lemon is too much taste for them to enjoy. Other people may love coffee. They may NOT be very sensitive to bitter foods. So the bitter taste of coffee is a perfect balance. What you like to eat is based on your tongue. You may never be able to make someone love a food that you love. If someone does not like the taste of fish, it will not matter how much they try it. Their tongue may not let them enjoy it.

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However, people should still try new foods often! The human tongue changes over time. As people get older, the tongue becomes less able to taste foods. This means that people could begin to like foods with more spice. Food they did not like as a child begins to taste great. Another reason for food tastes changing is that people also become less able to smell. Smell is a big part of eating. It influences how we react to foods.

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Each person’s tongue combines genetics and culture. Your tongue tastes foods because of your parents’ genes. You also have the food experiences you have because of the culture of your childhood. Veronique Greenwood wrote about why different cultures value different tasting foods for the BBC.com. She says that food tastes can make people remember home. She writes,

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‘The combination of tomato, garlic, oregano, and olive oil feels Italian. Food with dried shrimp, chili peppers, ginger, and palm oil feels Brazilian. For Germans, it is dill, sour cream, mustard, vinegar and black pepper. Chinese food uses soy sauce, rice wine, and ginger. Those tastes seem to describe a taste that most people from that culture enjoy eating.”

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One of the joys of travel is getting to try new foods. Each new place offers a new taste. But not every taste will be good to every person. Yet it is good to try new foods. Natalie Jesionka is a writer and teacher. She wrote about eating new foods for the Muse.com.

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“No matter how frightening a new food may seem, it is better to try it and experience it yourself. If it tastes great then you will have a new favorite food. If it tastes very bad? Well, then you will have a good travel story to share when you get home.”

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Do you like to try new foods? Have your tastes changed as you have grown older? Do you have a food from another country that you love or hate? Tell us about your experiences. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at radio@radioenglish.net. You can also comment on Facebook at Facebook.com/spotlightradio. Visit us on YouTube at youtube.com/spotlightenglish1.

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The writer of this program was Adam Navis. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the
United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Everything You Need to Know about The Human Tongue’.

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Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

Question:

Is there a food you hated as a child but like now as an adult? What is your favorite food?