Editing Tongue (section)

==Society and culture==
===Figures of speech===
The tongue can serve as a [[metonymy|metonym]] for ''language''. For example, the [[New Testament]] of the Bible, in the Book of [[Acts of the Apostles]], [[Jesus]]' disciples on the Day of [[Pentecost]] received a type of [[spiritual gift]]: "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the [[Holy Ghost]], and began to speak with other tongues&nbsp;....", which amazed the crowd of [[Jew]]ish people in [[Jerusalem]], who were from various parts of the [[Roman Empire]] but could now understand what was being preached. The phrase ''[[mother tongue]]'' is used as a child's first language.  Many languages<ref>[[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] ''tong''; [[Danish language|Danish]] ''tunge''; [[Albanian language|Albanian]] ''gjuha''; [[Armenian language|Armenian]] ''lezu'' (լեզու); [[Greek language|Greek]] ''glóssa'' (γλώσσα); [[Irish language|Irish]] ''teanga''; [[Manx language|Manx]] ''çhengey''; [[Latin]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] ''lingua''; [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''llengua''; [[French language|French]] ''langue''; [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''língua''; [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''lengua''; [[Romanian language|Romanian]] ''limba''; [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] ''ezik'' (език); [[Polish language|Polish]] ''język''; [[Russian language|Russian]] ''yazyk'' (язык); [[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] ''jazyk''; [[Slovene language|Slovene]] and [[Serbo-Croatian]] ''jezik'' (језик); [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] ''ziman'' (زمان); [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Urdu]] ''zabān'' (زبان); [[Arabic]] ''lisān'' (لسان); [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] ''liššānā'' (ܠܫܢܐ/לשנא); [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''lāšon'' (לָשׁוֹן); [[Maltese language|Maltese]] ''ilsien''; [[Estonian language|Estonian]] ''keel''; [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ''kieli''; [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] ''nyelv''; [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''dil''; [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] and [[Khakas language|Khakas]] ''til'' (тіл)</ref> have the same word for "tongue" and "[[language]]", as did the [[English language]] before the [[Middle Ages]].

A common temporary failure in word [[Recollection|retrieval]] from [[memory]] is referred to as the [[Tip of the tongue| ''tip-of-the-tongue'']] [[phenomenon]]. The expression ''[[Tongue-in-cheek|tongue in cheek]]'' refers to a statement that is not to be taken entirely seriously – something said or done with subtle ironic or sarcastic humour. A ''[[tongue twister]]'' is a phrase very difficult to pronounce. Aside from being a [[Ankyloglossia|medical condition]], "tongue-tied" means being unable to say what you want due to confusion or restriction. The phrase "cat got your tongue" refers to when a person is speechless. To "bite one's tongue" is a phrase which describes holding back an opinion to avoid causing offence. A "slip of the tongue" refers to an unintentional utterance, such as a [[Freudian slip]]. The "gift of tongues" refers to when one is uncommonly gifted to be able to speak in a foreign language, often as a type of [[spiritual gift]]. [[Speaking in tongues]] is a common phrase used to describe ''glossolalia'', which is to make smooth, language-resembling sounds that is no true spoken language itself. A deceptive person is said to have a [[forked tongue]], and a smooth-talking person is said to have a {{Linktext|silver tongue}}.

===Gestures===
Sticking one's tongue out at someone is considered a childish gesture of [[rudeness]] or defiance in many countries; the act may also have sexual connotations, depending on the way in which it is done. However, in [[Tibet]] it is considered a greeting.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Dresser |first1=Norine |title=On Sticking Out Your Tongue |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-08-me-51420-story.html |access-date= 18 July 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=8 November 1997}}</ref> In 2009, a farmer from [[Fabriano]], Italy, was convicted and fined by [[Court of Cassation (Italy)|Italy's highest court]] for sticking his tongue out at a neighbor with whom he had been arguing - proof of the affront had been captured with a cell-phone camera.<ref name="UPI">{{cite news | url = http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/12/19/Sticking-out-your-tongue-ruled-illegal/UPI-71761261272837/ | title = Sticking out your tongue ruled illegal | date = 19 December 2009 | location = Rome, Italy | author = United Press International | access-date = 17 September 2017}}</ref>

===Body art===
[[Tongue piercing]] and [[tongue splitting|splitting]] have become more common in western countries in recent decades.{{when?|date=April 2024}} One study found that one-fifth of young adults in Israel had at least one type of oral piercing, most commonly the tongue.<ref name="DTLEVIN">{{cite journal |last1= Liran |first1= Levin |last2= Yehuda |first2= Zadik |last3= Tal |first3= Becker |title= Oral and dental complications of intra-oral piercing |journal= Dent Traumatol |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=341–3 |date=December 2005 |pmid=16262620 |doi= 10.1111/j.1600-9657.2005.00395.x }}</ref>

=== Representational art ===
Protruding tongues appear in the art of several [[Polynesian culture]]s.<ref>
{{cite book
 |editor-last1         = Teilhet-Fisk
 |editor-first1        = Jehanne
 |orig-date            = 1973
 |title                = Dimensions of Polynesia: Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, October 7-November 25, 1973
 |date = 1973
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=BLEzAQAAIAAJ
 |publisher            = Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego
 |page                 = 115
 |access-date          = 15 April 2024
 |quote                = The mouth forms of Polynesia are expressive and contain a great deal of variation, from the snarling lips of Hawaiian sculture to the tight-lipped, pursed mouths of the Easter Island statues. [...] The presence or absence of a tongue is helpful in considering the meaning of the mouth forms. The mouth forms showing protrusion of the tongue occur in the Marginal Islands (New Zealand, Hawaii, and the Marquesas), Central Polynesia (Tahiti and the Cook Islands) and the Australs.
}}
</ref>

===As food===
{{See also|Beef tongue}}
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2022}}
The tongues of some animals are consumed and sometimes prized as delicacies. Hot-tongue sandwiches frequently appear on menus in [[kashrut|kosher]] [[delicatessen]]s in America. [[Taco|Taco de lengua]] (''lengua'' being Spanish for tongue) is a taco filled with [[beef tongue]], and is especially popular in Mexican cuisine. As part of Colombian gastronomy, Tongue in Sauce (Lengua en Salsa) is a dish prepared by frying the tongue and adding tomato sauce, onions and salt.  Tongue can also be prepared as [[birria]]. Pig and beef tongue are consumed in Chinese cuisine. [[Duck]] tongues are sometimes employed in [[Sichuan cuisine|Sichuan]] dishes, while [[Lamb (food)|lamb]]'s tongue is occasionally employed in Continental and contemporary American cooking. Fried [[cod]] "tongue" is a relatively common part of fish meals in [[Norway]] and in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]. In [[Argentina]] and [[Uruguay]] cow tongue is cooked and served in vinegar (''lengua a la vinagreta'').  In the Czech Republic and in Poland, a pork tongue is considered a delicacy, and there are many ways of preparing it. In Eastern Slavic countries, pork and beef tongues are commonly consumed, boiled and garnished with horseradish or jellied; beef tongues fetch a significantly higher price and are considered more of a delicacy.  In Alaska, cow tongues are among the more common. Both cow and moose tongues are popular toppings on open-top-sandwiches in Norway, the latter usually amongst hunters.

Tongues of seals and whales have been eaten, sometimes in large quantities, by sealers and whalers, and in various times and places have been sold for food on shore.<ref>{{cite book | first = Charles Boardman | last = Hawes | title = Whaling | url = https://archive.org/details/whaling00hawe | publisher = Doubleday | year = 1924}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2022}}