Evolution of the Tongue and Speech

The tongue did not evolve specifically for speech but initially for moving food around in the mouth and detecting poisons. It is a highly sensitive and flexible muscle with nerve endings, originally meant for protecting against toxins. Despite the primitive design of sharing the same passage for breathing and food, the tongue's ability to interrupt airflow is repurposed for speech. The tongue's role in speech is an example of exapted evolution, where a trait developed for one purpose is utilized for a different function. This phenomenon is also seen in the brain, which repurposes cognitive processes for new tasks.

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