A man has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years' jail for severing a woman's tongue.

Mohammed Tasleem Tahir was in a relationship with a woman in Adelaide, and when she moved to the Gold Coast, he followed her.

The Southport District Court heard in November 2010, the then 21-year-old attacked her in her apartment.

The Crown prosecutor told the court Tahir smashed an empty bottle over the 20-year-old's head several times, fracturing her eye socket.

Tahir then dragged a knife across her face, cutting her mouth and severing her tongue, the court heard.

Judge Katherine McGinness sentenced Tahir to eight-and-a-half years' jail.

She ordered he be eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence.

A woman in the public gallery gasped when the judge explained that, due to time already served, Tahir could be released in September next year.