I had about 1/3 - 1/2 of my tongue removed without reconstruction in Oct 2008. I had issues with talking and eating for a while, but my tongue adjusted in a few weeks - months.

The 2nd surgery in Nov 2009 involved a cranial nerve which controls the movement of the back left of my tongue. This has caused more issues with talking and eating than the first surgery. Right now I'm still in treatment, so I am still having issues with tongue movement.

Overall though, I was told as long as they removed less than half of my tongue, it would be able to function normally without reconstruction. When I went into surgery in 2008 I was prepped for reconstruction, just in case the cancer had spread further than they thought. Luckily the reconstruction was not needed for me and my tongue went back to functioning pretty normally.