I just had a large portion of the front of my tongue removed, including the tip, and a free flap installed from wrist tissue. Despite the fact that everything is still swollen enough that I am on PEG tube feeding, I can talk reasonably well, even on the telephone (in fact, I seem to be having more trouble face-to-face than on the phone; perhaps the listener is distracted by seeing me struggle with some sounds).

The front of my tongue is not mobile, but still locked down behind my teeth.

I haven't had the speech therapy yet, but have the most trouble with the letters L and G.

BTW, the surgeons tend to divide the tongue in several sections and then subdivide those, so a statement like "20 percent of the mobile tongue will be removed" actually means something like 20% of the front 30%, not 20% of the entire tongue.