{"id":14419,"date":"2011-08-13T00:27:48","date_gmt":"2011-08-13T00:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/151.106.38.4\/2011\/08\/13\/student-has-tongue-surgically-lengthened-to-help-her-speak-korean-language\/"},"modified":"2011-08-13T00:27:48","modified_gmt":"2011-08-13T00:27:48","slug":"student-has-tongue-surgically-lengthened-to-help-her-speak-korean-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/2011\/08\/13\/student-has-tongue-surgically-lengthened-to-help-her-speak-korean-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Student has tongue surgically lengthened to help her speak Korean language"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones, from Nottingham, had her tongue lengthened by 1cm to help her pronounce Korean words.<\/div>\n

Student Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones dreams of living and working in South Korea once she finishes university, even though she has never visited the country.
\nBut while taking language lessons, the 19-year-old found that she couldn\u2019t pronounce certain crucial sounds in the Korean alphabet.
\nHer dentist suggested it may be because she was born with a slightly shorter than average tongue, caused by having an unusually thick lingual frenulum – the flap of skin that joins the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. <\/p>\n

After discussing the matter with her parents and language tutor, Rhiannon decided to undergo an operation to correct the condition, despite the fact it has never caused her any problems in speaking English.
\nShe underwent a lingual frenectomy, which involves making an incision in the flap of skin. As a result, Rhiannon\u2019s tongue is now about 1cm longer, and she can say words that were impossible before.
\nRhiannon, of Beeston, Nottingham, said: \u2018I\u2019d been learning Korean for about two years, and my speaking level is now high, but I was really struggling with particular sounds\u2019.
\n\u2018It became apparent after a little while that I was having trouble with the Korean letter \u2018L\u2019, which is very frequent and comes from a slightly higher place in the mouth than the English \u2018L\u2019, and that my tongue was too short\u2019.
\n\u2018My pronunciation was very \u2018foreign\u2019, but now I can speak with a native Korean accent. The surgical procedure was my only option. It\u2019s not like you can stretch your tongue otherwise. I just decided enough was enough\u2019.  <\/p>\n

Rhiannon is currently awaiting her A-level results, and hoping to study Korean Studies and Business Management at the University of Sheffield.
\nThe 20-minute operation was carried out at Nottingham\u2019s Queen\u2019s Medical Centre under local anaesthetic.
\nBeing born with an unusually thick lingual frenulum – a condition known as Ankyloglossia, or commonly as \u2018Tongue Tie\u2019 – meant Rhiannon qualified for the procedure on the NHS.<\/p>\n

She said: \u2018I was a bit nervous, and it was agony at first, but healed within two weeks, and I noticed the difference instantly. Suddenly I was able to pronounce words I had no hope of before.\u2019
\nRhiannon became interested in the Asian nation\u2019s culture through a friend at school.
\nThe teenager said: \u2018She was into Korean pop and television programmes, which I would listen to and watch at her house\u2019.
\n\u2018Most of my free time was soon taken up with Korean things. Now I visit a Korean Church in Nottingham, where I do bible readings in Korean, and can\u2019t wait to visit the country itself\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Korean people can be quite reserved at first, but once you get to know them, they are very warmhearted. They\u2019ll do anything for you.\u2019
\nRhiannon\u2019s mother, Fiona Brooksbank-Jones, 56, said she supported her daughter in undergoing the procedure.
\nShe added: \u2018As her parents, we welcome her interest in other parts of the world, and are very proud of her\u2019.<\/p>\n

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Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones, from Nottingham, had her tongue lengthened by 1cm to help her pronounce Korean words. Student Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones dreams of living and working in South Korea once she finishes university, even though she has never visited the country. But while taking language lessons, the 19-year-old found that she couldn\u2019t pronounce certain crucial sounds in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[688],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-infotainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}