§2.17.1Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐν τῷ στόματι ἡ γλῶττα 17 τοῖς ζῴοις ἐστί, τοῖς μὲν πεζοῖς σχεδὸν ὁμοίως πἀσι, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις ἀνομοίως καὶ αὐτοῖς πρὸς αὐτὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰ πεζὰ τῶν ζῷόων.
17 Under the palate in the mouth, the tongue exists in animals; in land animals, almost similarly in all of them, but in the others, dissimilarly both among themselves and in comparison with land animals.
§2.17.2ὁ μὲν οὖν ἅνθρωοπος ἀπονλελυμμένην 2 τε καὶ μαλακωτάτην ἔχει μάλιστα τὴν γλὼτταν καὶ πλατεῖαν, ὅπως πρὸς ἀμφοτέρας ᾖ τὰς ἐργασίας χρήσιμος, πρὸς τε τὴν τῶν χυμῶν αἱσθησιν (ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος εὐαισθητότατος τῶν ἅλλων ζῴων, καὶ ἡ μαλακὴ γλῶττα· ἁπτικωτάτη γαρ, ἡ δὲ γεῦσις ἀρή τίς ἐστιν), καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν γραμμάτων διάρθρωσιν καὶ πρὸς τὸν λόγον ἡ μαλακὴ καὶ πλατεῖα χρήσιμος· συστέλλειν γὰρ καὶ προβάλλειν παντοδαπῆ τοιαύτη οὐσα καὶ ἀπολελυμένη μάλιστʼ ἄν δύναιτο.
2 Humans, then, have the tongue most free and softest, and also broad, so that it may be useful for both functions: both for the perception of tastes (for humans are the most sensitive of all animals, and the soft tongue is suitable, for it is most tactile, and taste is a kind of touch), and for the articulation of letters (phonemes) and for speech, the soft and broad tongue is useful; for being of such a nature and free, it would be most able to contract and project in all ways.
δηλοῖ δʼ ὅσοις μὴ λίαν ἀπολέλυται· ψελλίζονται γὰρ καὶ τραυλίζουσι, τούτο δʼ ἐστὶν ἔνδεια τῶν γραμμάτων.
This is clear in those whose tongue is not very free; for they lisp and stammer, and this is a deficiency in letters (articulation of phonemes).
§2.17.33 ἔν τε τῷ πλατεῖαν εἶναι καὶ τὸ στενήν ἐστιν· ἐν γὰρ τῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ τὸ μικρόν, ἐν δὲ τῷ μικρῷ τὸ μέγα οὐκ ἔστιν.
3 And within being broad, being narrow is also present; for in the great, the small is also present, but in the small, the great is not.
διὸ καὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων οἱ μάλιστα φθεγγόμενοι γρμματα πλατυγλωττὸτεροι τῶν ἄλλων εἰσίν.
Therefore, those of the birds that utter letters (sounds) most are broader-tongued than the others.
τὰ δʼ ἕναιμα καὶ ζφοτόκα τῶν τετραπόδων βραχεῖαν της ψώνῆς ἔχει διάρθρωσιν· σκληράν τε γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἀπολελυμιένην ἔχουσι καὶ παχεῖαν τὴν γλύτταν.
And the sanguineous and viviparous quadrupeds have a slight articulation of voice; for they have a tongue that is hard, not free, and thick.
§2.17.44 τῶν δʼ ὀρνίθων ἔνιοι πολύφωνοι, καὶ πλατυτέραν οί γαμ ψωνυχοι ἔχουσιν.
4 Some of the birds are multi-voiced, and the crook-taloned ones have a broader tongue.
πολύφωνοι δʼ οἱ μικρτεροι.
The smaller ones are multi-voiced.
καὶ χρῶνται τῇ γλύττῃ καὶ πρὸς ἑρμηνείαν ἀλλήλοις πάντες μέν, ἕτεροι δὲ τῶν ἑτέρων μἀλλον, ὥστʼ ἐπʼ ἐνίων καὶ μάθησιν εἶναι δοκεῖν παρʼ ἀλλήλων· εἴρηται δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ταῖς περὶ τῶν ζφων.
And they all use the tongue also for communication with one another, some more than others, so that in some cases there even seems to be learning from one another; and it has been spoken about them in the inquiries concerning animals.
§2.17.55 τῶν δὲ πεζῶν καὶ ᾠοτόκων καὶ ἐναίμων πρὸς μὲν τὴν τῆς φωνῆς ἐργασίαν ἄχρηστον τὰ πολλὰ τὴν γλῶτταν ἔχει καὶ προσδεδεμένην καὶ σκληράν, πρὸς δὲ τὴν τῶν χυμῶν γεῦσιν οἵ τʼ ὄφεις καὶ οἱ σαύροι μακρὰν καὶ δικρόαν ἔχουσιν, οἱ μὲν ὄφεις οὕτως μακρὰν ὥστʼ ὲκτείνεσθαι ἐκ μικροῦ ἐπὶ πολύ, δικρόαν δὲ καὶ τὸ ἄκρον λεπτὸν καὶ τριχῶδες διὰ τὴν λιχνείαν τῆς φύσεως· διπλῆν γὰρ τὴν ἡδονὴν κτάται τῶν χυμῶν, ὥσπερ διπλῆν ἔχοντα τὴν τῆς γεύσεωος αἴσθησιν.
5 Most of the land, oviparous, and sanguineous animals have a tongue useless for the production of voice, being both bound down and hard; but for the taste of juices (savors), snakes and lizards have a long and bifid tongue; snakes have it so long as to stretch from a small size to a great length, and bifid and with a fine and hair-like tip because of the greediness of their nature; for they acquire a double pleasure from savors, as if having a double perception of taste.
§2.17.66 ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὰ μὴ ἔναιμα τῶν ζῴων τὸ αἰσθητικὸν τῶν χυμῶν μὸριον καὶ τὰ ἔναιμα πάντκ· καὶ γὰρ ὅσα μὴ δοκεῖ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἔχειν, οἷον ἔνιοι τῶν ἰχθύων, καὶ ούτοι τρὸπον τινὰ γλίσχρον ἔχουσι, καὶ σχεδὸν παραπλησίως τοῖς ποταμίοις κροκοδείλοις.
6 The bloodless animals also have the organ for perceiving savors, and all the sanguineous ones; for even those which do not seem to most people to have one, such as some of the fishes, these also have a kind of sticky part, almost similar to the river crocodiles.
§2.17.77 οὐ φαίνονται δʼ οἱ πλεῖστοι ἀητῶν ἔχειν διά τινʼ αἰτίαν εὔλογον· ἀκανθώόδης τε γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τόπος τού στόματος πἀσι τοῖς τοιούτοις, καὶ διὰ τὸ μικρὸν χρόνον εἶναι τὴν αἴσθησιν τοῖς ἐνύδροις τῶν χυμῶν, ὤσπερ καὶ ἡ χρῆσις αὐτῆς βραχεῖα, οὕτω βραχεῖαν ἔχουσιν αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν διάρθρωσιν.
7 But most of the fishes do not seem to have one, for a reasonable cause; for the region of the mouth is thorny in all such animals, and because the perception of savors lasts for a short time for aquatic animals, just as its use is brief, so also they have a brief articulation of it.
ταχεῖκ δʼ ἡ δίοδος είς τὴν κοιλίαν διἀ τὸ μὴ οἷόντ εἶναι διατρίβειν ἐκχυμίζοντας· παρεμπίπτοι γὰρ ἄν τὸ ὕδωρ.
And the passage into the stomach is rapid, because it is not possible for them to linger while extracting the savors; for water would flow in.
στʼ ἐὰν μὴ τις τὸ στόμα ἐπικλίνῃ, μὴ φαίνεσθαι ἀφεστηκὸς τοὺτο τὸ μόριον.
So unless one inclines the mouth, this part does not appear to be separate.