Korean Job Discussion Forums

[highlander_76]

Has anybody heard about this? An adult Korean student of mine said that he saw a story on the news the other night about parents in Gangnam having surgeries done on their children to cut that little piece of flesh that holds your tongue to the bottom of your mouth when you lift it up. The reason, of course, is that this supposedly allows one's tongue to move better and thus allows one... to speak English better, of course!

I found this appalling (though not surprising) because I have done a BA and almost an entire MA in linguistics and have NEVER heard anything that would support this practice in any way, that there is actually a physical difference between the vocal apparatus of caucasians, Asians, etc., that makes speaking any particular language easier or more difficult for any particular ethnic group.

I even confirmed it through the internet (however reliable that is):

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/01/02/story127726.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=40712

(apparently it's an old story because the stories above are from 2004 and 2003 respectively)

[Hollywoodaction]

That's a really old story.

[highlander_76]

I know that it's a pretty old story; I noted that at the end of my post. Let me clarify then:

Has anyone had firsthand experience with this phenomenon?

[jvalmer]

I wonder if this is just another Urban Legend, kind of like Fan Death. If a doctor actually performs this kind of surgery, I'd hope that they'd lose their license to practise. But, then again it's Korea...

[Alyallen]

It is a legitimate surgery but obviously not intended for that purpose....

I've never met anyone who had it done for that reason before...

[Harpeau]

I've had that type of surgery done on myself back in the 8th grade. It is where they snip the thing under your tongue. The reason is it gives the tongue a bit more length and flexibility. It's nothing horrible. Just because you've never dealt with it in your experience doesn't mean it's not real.

[Alyallen]

[highlander_76]

Yeah, I'm sure that there is a legit purpose for it in some cases. I just wouldn't consider it an elective surgery that one should be able to simply request for their child without a legitimate diagnosis.