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Telugu language

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"Telugu" redirects here. For other uses, see Telugu (disambiguation).

Telugu
తలుగు
Spoken in
Region Andhra Pradesh
Total speakers 74 million native speakers as
of 2001
Ranking 14[1]
Language Dravidian
family South-Central
Telugu
Writing system Telugu script
Official status
Official
language in India
Regulated by No official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1 te
 ISO 639-2 tel
ISO 639-3 tel
Linguasphere

Distribution of native Telugu speakers in India

This page contains Indic text.
Without rendering support you
may see irregular vowel
positioning and a lack of
conjuncts. More...
Telugu (natively తలుగు telugu) is a Dravidian language. Telugu has the third largest
number of native speakers in India (74 million according to the 2001 census) and is
15th in the Ethnologue list of most-spoken languages worldwide.[2]

It is the official language of Andhra Pradesh, one of the largest states of India and
the centrally administered Yanam district of the union territory of Puducherry. The
mother tongue of the majority of people of Andhra Pradesh, it is also spoken in
neighbouring states like Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil
Nadu. It is also one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of
India[3] and was conferred the status of a Classical language by the Government of
India.[4][5]

Telugu Script is derived from Bhattiprolu script, which is itself a variant of Brahmi
Script. Telugu vocabulary has been subjected to prolonged influence from
Sanskrit[6] and Prakrits.[7] It is also influenced by Urdu.
Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Lexical traces
2.2 Telugu epigraphy
2.3 Middle Ages
2.4 Muslim rule
2.5 Colonial period
2.6 Post-Independence
3 Geographic distribution
3.1 Dialects
4 Phonology
4.1 Achchulu అచుచలు (vowels)
4.2 Hallulu హలులలు
(consonants)
4.3 Numbers(Ankelu, అంకలు)
5 Grammar
5.1 Inflection
5.1.1 Location
5.1.2 Motion
5.1.3 Morphosyntactic
alignment
5.1.4 Relation
5.1.5 Polyagglutination
5.2 Inclusive and exclusive
pronouns
5.3 Gender
6 Vocabulary
7 Writing system
8 Carnatic music
9 Literature
10 Quotes on Telugu
11 Telugu Learning resources
11.1 From English
12 See also
13 References
14 Bibliography
15 External links
Etymology

The etymology of Telugu is not known for certain. It is thought to have been derived
from trilinga, as in Trilinga Desa, "the country of the three lingas". According to a
Hindu legend, Siva as linga descended on three mountains namely, Kaleswara,
Srisaila and Bhimeswara, which marked the boundaries of the Telugu country.[8]
Trilinga Desa is the land in between these three Shiva temples namely
Kaleshwaram, Srisailam and Draksharamam. Trilinga Desa forms the traditional
boundaries of the Telugu region. Telugu has also been known as "Tenungu",
"Tenugu" and "Telungu" which were all popularized by Nannayya and Tikkanna.

History

Lexical traces

The earliest traces of Telugu are found in Prakrit context in inscriptions of the final
centuries BCE. Telugu was strongly influenced by a Prakrit/Sanskrit from prehistoric
times and by Urdu and Hindi in modern times. Epigraphic evidence suggests that
during the Satavahana dynasty, the rulers spoke Prakrit[citation needed] while the
general population spoke an early form of Telugu.

Inscriptions containing Telugu words dated to 400 BCE were discovered in

Bhattiprolu in Guntur district. The English translation of one inscription reads: "Gift
of the slab by venerable Midikilayakha".[9] Telugu words appear in the Maharashtri
Prakrit anthology of poems (the Gatha Saptashati) collected by the 1st century BCE
Satavahana King Hāla.

Telugu epigraphy

The first inscription that is entirely in Telugu corresponds to the second phase of
Telugu history. This inscription, dated 575 AD, was found in the Rayalaseema region
and is attributed to the Renati Cholas, who broke with the prevailing custom of
using Sanskrit and began writing royal proclamations in the local language. During
the next fifty years, Telugu inscriptions appeared in Anantapuram and other
neighboring regions.

Telugu was more influenced by Sanskrit than Prakrit during this period, which
corresponded to the advent of Telugu literature. This literature was initially found in
inscriptions and poetry in the courts of the rulers, and later in written works such as
Nannayya's Mahabharatam (1022 AD).[10] During the time of Nannayya, the
literary language diverged from the popular language. This was also a period of
phonetic changes in the spoken language.

Middle Ages

The third phase is marked by further stylization and sophistication of the literary
language. Ketana (13th century) in fact prohibited the use of spoken words in poetic
works.[10] During this period the separation of Telugu script from the common
Telugu-Kannada script took place.[11] Tikkana wrote his works in this script.[citation
needed]

Muslim rule
Telugu language has gone through a great deal of change (as did other Indian
languages), progressing from medieval to modern. The language in the Telangana
region was influenced much as people started to split into a distinct dialect due to
Muslim influence on them: Sultanate rule under the Tughlaq dynasty had been
established earlier in the northern Deccan during the 14th century. South of the
Krishna River (Rayalaseema region), however, the Vijayanagara empire gained
dominance from 1336 till the late 17th century, reaching its peak during the rule of
Sri Krishnadevaraya in the 16th century, when Telugu literature experienced what is
considered to be its golden age.[10] Padakavithapithamaha, Annamayya,
contributed many atcha (pristine) Telugu Padaalu to this great language. In the
latter half of the 17th century, Muslim rule extended further south, culminating in
the establishment of the princely state of Hyderabad by the Asaf Jah dynasty in
1724. This heralded an era of Persian/Arabic influence on the Telugu language,
especially among the people of Hyderabad. The effect is also felt in the prose of the
early 19th century, as in the Kaifiyats.[10]

Colonial period

The period of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries saw the influence of the
English language and modern communication/printing press as an effect of the
British rule, especially in the areas that were part of the Madras Presidency.
Literature from this time had a mix of classical and modern traditions and included
works by scholars like Kandukuri Viresalingam,Gurajada Apparao and Panuganti
Lakshminarasimha Rao.[10]

Since the 1930s, what was considered an elite literary form of the Telugu language
has now spread to the common people with the introduction of mass media like
movies, television, radio and newspapers. This form of the language is also taught
in schools and colleges as a standard.

Post-Independence

Telugu is one of the 22 official languages of India. The Andhra Pradesh Official
Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu to be the official language of Andhra Pradesh.
This enactment was implemented by GO Ms No 420 in 2005.[12][13]

Telugu also has official language status in the Yanam District of the Union Territory
of Puducherry.

Geographic distribution

See also: States of India by Telugu speakers

Telugu is mainly spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Yanam district of
Puducherry as well as in the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry,
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, some parts of Jharkhand and the
Kharagpur region of West Bengal in India. It is also spoken in the United States,
where the Telugu diaspora numbers more than 800,000; as well as in Australia, New
Zealand, Bahrain, Canada, Fiji, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Ireland, South Africa,
the United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom and also most of the western European
countries, where there is also a considerable Telugu diaspora. Telugu is the second
most spoken language in the Indian subcontinent after Hindi.[2]

Dialects

Waddar,[14] Chenchu,[15] Savara,[16] and Manna-Dora[17] are all closely related

to Telugu.[18] Dialects of Telugu are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi,
Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Telangana, Warangal, Mahaboob Nagar (Palamuru),
Gadwal (Rayalaseema mix), Narayana peta (Kannada and Marathi influence),
Vijayawada, Vadaga, Srikakula, Visakhapatnam, Toorpu (East) Godavari, Paschima
(West) Godavari, Kandula, Rayalaseema, Nellooru, Prakasam, Guntooru, Tirupati,
Vadari and Yanadi (Yenadi).[19]

In Tamil Nadu the Telugu dialect is classified into Salem, Coimbatore, and Chennai
Telugu dialects[citation needed]. It is also widely spoken in Virudhunagar, Tuticorin,
Madurai and Thanjavur districts. Along with the most standard forms of Indian
languages like Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Oriya and Marathi, Standard
Telugu is often called a Shuddha Bhaasha ("pure language").

Phonology

British authors in the 19th century called Telugu the Italian of the East as all the
words in Telugu end with a vowel sound, but it is believed that Italian explorer
Niccolò Da Conti coined the phrase in the 15th century. Conti visited Vijayanagara
empire during the reign of Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya in 1520s.

Telugu is the only language in India which has all the words that end with the sound
of Vowel.

As in Turkish, Hungarian and Finnish, Telugu words have vowels in inflectional

suffixes harmonized with the vowels of the preceding syllable.

Achchulu అచుచలు (vowels)

Like other major Dravidian languages, the Telugu vowel set includes short /e/ and
/o/ as well as the long /eː/ and /oː/ of the Indo-Aryan languages.

అ ఆ ఇ ఈ ఉ ఊ ఋ ౠ ఎ ఏ ఐ ఒ ఓ ఔ అం అః
/a/ /ɑː/ /ɪ/ /iː/ /u/ /uː/ /ru/ /ruː/ /e/ /eː/ /ai/ /o/ /oː/ /au/ /um/ /aha/
Hallulu హలులలు (consonants)

క(ka) ఖ(kha) గ(ga) ఘ(gha) ఙ

చ(cha) ఛ(chaa) జ(ja) ఝ(jha) ఞ
ట(ta) ఠ(tha) డ(da) ఢ(dha) ణ
త(ta) థ(tha) ద(da) ధ(dha) న(na)
ప(pa) ఫ(pha) బ()ba భ(bha) మ(ma)
య(ya) ర(ra) ల(la) వ(va) శ(shw) ష(sha) స(sa) హ(ha) ళ(hala) క ్్(ksha)
ష ఱ(bandira)

Numbers(Ankelu, అంకలు)

౦౧౨౩౪౫౬౭౮౯
0 123456789
The letters for the consonants correspond one-to-one to the set in Sanskrit.

There are two exceptions to the general correspondence of Sanskrit and Telugu
consonants in their written form. One is the historical form of /r/ ఱ. The other is the
retroflex lateral ళ /ɭ/.

The table below indicates the articulation of consonants in Telugu.

Telugu Vyanjana Ucchārana Pattika[20]

Tālavy
Kanthy Mūrdhany Dantyam Ōshtya
Prayatna amu
amu Kanthatāla amu u Dantōsht mu Kanthōsh
Niyamāv (jihvā
(jihvā vyam (jihvāgra (jihvāgra yam (adhōst tyam
ali Madhy
Mūlam) mu) mu) amu)
am)
a aa e ai i ii aru aruu alu aluu - u uu o au
Sparśam,
Śvāsam,
ka - cha Ta ta - pa -
Alpaprān
am
Sparśam,
Śvāsam,
kha - chha Tha tha - pha -
Mahāprā
nam
Sparśam,
Nādam,
ga - ja Da da - ba -
Alpaprān
am
Sparśam,
Nādam,
gha - jha Dha dha - bha -
Mahāprā
nam
Sparśam, nga - nja Na na - ma -
Nādam,
Alpaprān
am,
Anunāsik
am,
Dravam,
Avyāhata
m
Antastha
m, ra
la
Nādam, (Lunthita
(Pārśvika
Alpaprān m)
- - ya m) va - -
am, La
Ra(Kamp
Dravam, (Pārśvika
itam)
Avyāhata m)
m
Ūshmam
u,
Śvāsam,
Mahāprā Visarga - śa sha sa - - -
nam,
Avyāhata
m
Ūshmam
u,
Nādam,
Mahāprā ha - - - - - - -
nam,
Avyāhata
m
Grammar

Every Telugu grammatical rule is laboriously deduced from a Sanskrit canon.[21]

In Telugu, Karta కర్్త(nominative case or the doer), Karma కర ్్మ (object of the
verb) and Kriya క ్్్
్ి్రయ (action or the verb) follow a sequence (Subject Object
Verb).[22] Telugu also has the Vibhakthi వభకత ([1]) tradition.

ర్ాముడ్ు (Ramudu) బంత్ిన్ి (bantini) క్ొట ్్్

్ా్్
ట్ు డ
Telugu
(kottaadu)
Literal
Rama ball hit
translation
Reformatted "Rama hit the ball"
Inflection

Telugu uses many morphological processes to join words together, forming complex
words. These processes are traditionally referred to as sandhi (from Sanskrit,
"combination").
For example, ati + uttamam gives the word atyuttamam.

These rules are defined under various types of సంధ (sandhi) and సమసము
(samasamu). According to these rules, any two words or two letters or a word and a
letter to be united to form a single word should satisfy certain criteria.

Hence, Telugu words can often be broken down into words or letters that carry a
complete meaning themselves. Vice-versa, many words and letters can be
combined to make a complex word that carries a more complex meaning that
equates to a complete phrase or sentence when translated to English.

For example, nuvvostanante is formed from the individual words nuvvu, vastanu,
and ante, which loosely translate into English as "if you say you will come."
Reduplication—repeating words or syllables—creates new or emphatic meanings
(e.g., pakapaka ‘suddenly bursting out laughing,’ garagara ‘clean, neat, nice’).

Telugu is often considered an agglutinative language, where certain syllables are

added to the end of a noun to denote its case:

Ramudinun ర్ాముడ్ిన్ుంచ ర్ాముడ్ు(Ramudu)

Ablative "from" Rama
chi ్ి + న్ుంచ్ి(from)
ర్ాము(Ramu) + "generic reference
Genitive Ramuni ర్ామున్ి
న్ి(ni) to" Rama)
specifically referring
ర్ాము(Ramu) +
Dative Ramuniki ర్ామున్ిక్ి something "about"
న్ి(ni) + క్ి(ki)
referring to Rama)
specifically referring
Instrument ర్ాము(Ramu) +
Ramunitho ర్ామున్ిత్ో something "with"
al న్ి(ni) + త(tho)
Rama
These agglutinations apply to all nouns generally in the singular and plural.

Here is how other cases are manifested in Telugu:

Location

[clarification needed]

Case Usage English example Telugu example

Adessive adjacent near/at/by the
ఇంట్ి/పక్్క/ɪɳʈɪprakːa/
case location house
inside
Inessive case inside the house ఇంట ్్్
్ోల/ɪɳʈloː/
something
at/on/in the
Locative case location ఇంట్ిదగ్్ గర /ɪɳʈɪd̪aɡːara/
house
Superessive on the on (top of) the
ఇంట్ిప్ైై /ɪɳʈɪpaj/
case surface house
Motion
[clarification needed]

English
Case Usage Telugu example
example
movement to (the
Allative
adjacency of) to the house ఇంట్ిక్ి /ɪɳʈɪkɪ/, ఇంట్ివపై ్ు /ɪɳʈɪvajpu/
case
something
Delative movement from the from (the top
ఇంట్ిప్ైనై ్ుంచ్ి /ɪɳʈɪpajnɪɲcɪ/
case surface of) the house
marking the beginning
Egressive ఇంట్ిన్ుంచ్ి /ɪɳʈɪnɪɲcɪ/ (ఇంట్ిక్ైల ్్్
్ిల
beginning of a from the
case /ɪɳʈɪkelːɪ/ in some dialects)
movement or time house
ఇంట్ిల్ోన్ుంచ్ి /ɪɳʈɪnɪɲcɪ/
Elative out of the
out of something (ఇంట్్ లక్ైల ్్్
్ిల/ɪɳʈlakelːɪ/ in some
case house
dialects)
Illative movement into into the ఇంట్ిల్ోన్ిక్ి /ɪɳʈɪloːnɪkɪ/
case something house (ఇంట ్్్
్ో్ ్ి /ɪɳʈloːkɪ/)
ల్ క
Sublative movement onto the on(to) the
ఇంట్ిప్ైకై ్ి /ɪɳʈɪpajkɪ/
case surface house
marking the end of
Terminativ as far as the
a movement or ఇంట్ివరక్ు /ɪɳʈɪvaraku/
e case house
time
Morphosyntactic alignment

[clarification needed]

English
Case Usage Telugu example
example
Oblique all-round case; any situation concerning the ఇంట్ిగ్ుర్ించ్ి
case except nominative house /ɪɳʈɪɡurɪɲcɪ/
Relation

[clarification needed]

English
Case Usage Telugu example
example
Benefactive for, for the benefit ఇంట్ిక్ోసం /ɪɳʈɪkoːsam/
for the house
case of, intended for (ఇంట్ిక్ొరక్ు /ɪɳʈɪkoraku/)
because of
Causal case because, because of ఇంట్ివలన /ɪɳʈɪvalana/
the house
Comitative in company of with the
ఇంట్ిత్ో /ɪɳʈɪt̪oː/
case something house
Possessive direct possession of owned by
ఇంట్ియక్్క/ɪɳʈɪjokːa/
case something the house
Polyagglutination
While the examples given above are single agglutinations, Telugu allows for
polyagglutination, a feature of being able to add multiple suffixes to words to
denote more complex features:

For example, one can affix both "న్ుంచ్ి; nunchi - from" and "ల; lo - in" to a noun
to denote from within. An example of this is "ర్ాముల్ోన్ుంచ్ి; ramuloninchi -
from within Ramu".

Here is an example of a triple agglutination: "వటమధయలనుంచ; vāṭimadʰyalōninchi -

from in between them".

Inclusive and exclusive pronouns

Telugu, in common with other Dravidian languages, distinguishes between inclusive

and exclusive we. The bifurcation of the First Person Plural pronoun (we in English)
into inclusive (మనము; manamu) and exclusive (మము; mēmu) versions can also be
found in Tamil and Malayalam, although it is not used in modern Kannada.

Gender

Telugu pronouns follow the systems for gender and respect (T-V distinction) also
found in other Indian languages. The second person plural మరు /miːru/ is used in
addressing someone with respect, and there are also respectful third personal
pronouns (ఆయన /ɑːjana/ m. and ఆవడ /ɑːvɪɽa/ f.) pertaining to both genders. Telugu
uses the same forms for singular feminine and neuter genders — the third person
pronoun (అద /ad̪ɪ/) is used to refer to animals and objects.[23][24][clarification
needed]

Vocabulary

This article needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)
Telugu has high percentage of Sanskrit words. It also contains, to a lesser extent,
Arabic and Persian words such as "maidanam" (maydan in Arabic), "kalam" (qalam
in Arabic) and "Bazaar" (originally Persian word). Today, Telugu is classified as a
Dravidian language characterized by a significant presence of Sanskrit loan words.

The vocabulary of Telugu, especially in Telangana region, has a trove of Persian-

Arabic borrowings, which have been modified to fit Telugu phonology. This was due
to centuries of Muslim rule in these regions, such as the erstwhile kingdoms of
Golkonda and Hyderabad. (e.g. కబ్ుర్ు, /kaburu/ for Urdu /xabar/, ‫ خبر‬or జవబ్ు,
/ɟavɑːbu/ for Urdu /ɟawɑːb/, ‫)جواب‬

Modern Telugu vocabulary can be said to constitute a diglossia, because the formal,
standardized version of the language, heavily influenced by Sanskrit, is taught in
schools and used by the government and Hindu religious institutions. However,
everyday Telugu varies depending upon region and social status. There is a large
and growing middle class whose Telugu is substantially interspersed with English.
Popular Telugu, especially in urban Hyderabad, spoken by the masses and seen in
movies that are directed towards the masses, includes both English and Hindi/Urdu
influences.

According to famous linguist Chenchiah, Telugu is Vikriti, that is a language formed

by modification of Sanskrit and Prakrit. It would appear that Andhras adopted a form
of Prakrit, which, in course of development, became the immediate ancestor of
Telugu.[25]

Writing system

The name Telugu written in the Telugu script

Main article: Telugu script

The famous Muslim historian and scholar of 10th century, Al-Biruni referred to
Telugu language and script as "Andhri".[26]

Telugu script is written from left to right and consists of sequences of simple and/or
complex characters. The script is syllabic in nature - the basic units of writing are
syllables. Since the number of possible syllables is very large, syllables are
composed of more basic units such as vowels (“achchu” or “swaram”) and
consonants (“hallu” or “vyanjanam”). Consonants in consonant clusters take shapes
that are very different from the shapes they take elsewhere. Consonants are
presumed to be pure consonants, that is, without any vowel sound in them.
However, it is traditional to write and read consonants with an implied 'a' vowel
sound. When consonants combine with other vowel signs, the vowel part is
indicated orthographically using signs known as vowel “maatras”. The shapes of
vowel “maatras” are also very different from the shapes of the corresponding
vowels.

The overall pattern consists of sixty symbols, of which 16 are vowels, three vowel
modifiers, and forty-one consonants. Spaces are used between words as word
separators.

The sentence ends with either a single bar | (“purna viramam”) or a double bar ||
(“deergha viramam”). Traditionally, in handwriting, Telugu words were not
separated by spaces. Modern punctuation (commas, semicolon, etc.) were
introduced with the advent of print.[27]

There is a set of symbols for numerals, though Arabic numbers are typically used.

Telugu is assigned Unicode codepoints: 0C00-0C7F (3072-3199).[28]

Carnatic music

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article titled
Carnatic music. (Discuss)
Thanjavur was the heart of the Tamil Chola dynasty (from the 9th century to the
13th), but in the second quarter of the 16th century a Telugu Nayak viceroy
(Raghunatha Nayaka) was appointed by the emperor of Vijayanagara, thus
establishing a court whose language was Telugu. Telugu Nayaka rulers acted as the
governors in the present day Tamil Nadu area with headquarters at Thanjavur
(1530-1674 CE) and Madurai (1530-1781 CE). After the collapse of Vijayanagar,
Thanjavur and Madurai Nayaks became independent and ruled for the next 150
years until they were replaced by Marathas. This was the period when several
Telugu families migrated from Andhra and settled down in Thanjavur and Madurai in
Tamilnadu. Most of the great composers of Carnatic music belonged to these
families. Telugu, a language ending with vowels, giving it a mellifluous quality, was
also considered suitable for musical expression. Of the trinity of Carnatic music
composers, Tyagaraja's and Syama Sastri's compositions were largely in Telugu,
while Muthuswami Dikshitar a Tamil composer is noted for his Sanskrit texts.
Tyagaraja is remembered both for his devotion and the bhava of his krithi, a song
form consisting of pallavi, (the first section of a song) anupallavi (a rhyming section
that follows the pallavi) and charanam (a sung stanza, which serves as a refrain for
several passages in the composition). The texts of his kritis are almost all in
Sanskrit, in Telugu (the contemporary language of the court). This use of a living
language, as opposed to Sanskrit, the language of ritual, is in keeping with the
bhakti ideal of the immediacy of devotion. Sri Syama Sastri, the oldest of the trinity,
was taught Telugu and Sanskrit by his father, who was the pujari (Hindu priest) at
the Meenakshi temple in Madurai of Tamilnadu. Syama Sastri's texts were largely
composed in Telugu, widening their popular appeal. Some of his most famous
compositions include the nine krithis, Navaratnamaalikā, in praise of the goddess
Meenakshi at Madurai, and his eighteen krithi in praise of Kamakshi. As well as
composing krithi, he is credited with turning the svarajati, originally used for dance,
into a purely musical form.

Literature

This section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline
citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.
 (August 2007)
Main article: Telugu literature

Telugu literature is generally divided into six periods:

pre-1020 pre-Nannayya
CE period
Age of the
1020–1400
Puranas
1400–1510 Age of Srinatha
Age of the
1510–1600
Prabandhas
1600–1820 Southern period
1820 to
Modern period
date
In the telugu literature Tikkana was given agraasana(top position) by many famous
critics. In the earliest period there were only inscriptions from 575 AD onwards.
Nannaya's (1022–1063) translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata into Telugu is the
piece of Telugu literature as yet discovered. After the demise of Nannaya, there was
a kind of social and religious revolution in the Telugu country.[29]

Tikkana (13th century) and Yerrapregada (14th century) continued the translation
of the Mahabharata started by Nannaya. Telugu poetry also flourished in this period,
especially in the time of Srinatha.

During this period, some Telugu poets translated Sanskrit poems and dramas, while
others attempted original narrative poems. The popular Telugu literary form called
the Prabandha evolved during this period. Srinatha (1365–1441) was the foremost
poet, who popularised this style of composition (a story in verse having a tight
metrical scheme). Srinatha's Sringara Naishadham is particularly well-known.

The Ramayana poets may also be referred in this context. The earliest Ramayana in
Telugu is generally known as the Ranganatha Ramayana, authored by the chief
Gona budhdha Reddy. The works of Pothana (1450–1510), Jakkana (second half of
the 14th century) and Gaurana (first half of the 15th century) formed a canon of
religious poetry during this period. Padakavitha Pithamaha, Annamayya, contributed
many original Telugu Paatalu (Songs) to the language.

The 16th and 17th centuries CE is regarded as the "golden age" of Telugu literature.
Krishnadevaraya's Amukthamalayadha, and Pedhdhana's Manucharithra are
regarded as Mahaakaavyaas. Telugu literature flourished in the south in the
traditional "samsthanas" (centres) of Southern literature, such as Madurai and
Tanjore. This age is often referred to as the Southern Period. There were also an
increasing number of poets in this period among the ruling class, women and non-
Brahmins who popularised indigenous (desi) meters.
With the conquest of the Deccan by the Mughals in 1687, Telugu literature entered
a lull. Tyagaraja's compositions are some of the known works from this period. Then
emerged a period of transition (1850–1910), followed by a long period of
Renaissance. Europeans like C.P. Brown played an important role in the
development of Telugu language and literature. In common with the rest of India,
Telugu literature of this period was increasingly influenced by European literary
forms like the novel, short story, prose and drama.

Paravastu Chinnayya Soori (1807–1861) is a well-known Telugu writer who

dedicated his entire life to the progress and promotion of Telugu language and
literature. Sri Chinnayasoori wrote the Bala Vyakaranam in a new style after doing
extensive research on Andhra grammar. Other well-known writings by
Chinnayasoori are Neethichandrika, Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu, Andhra
Dhatumoola, and Neeti Sangrahamu.

Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848–1919) is generally considered to be the father of

modern Telugu literature.[30] His novel Rajasekhara Charitamu was inspired by the
Vicar of Wakefield. His work marked the beginning of a dynamic of socially
conscious Telugu literature and its transition to the modern period, which is also
part of the wider literary renaissance that took place in Indian culture during this
period. Other prominent literary figures from this period are Gurajada Appa Rao,
Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Gurram Jashuva, Rayaprolu Subba Rao, Devulapalli
Krishnasastri and Srirangam Srinivasa Rao, popularly known as Mahakavi Sri Sri. Sri
Sri was instrumental in popularising free verse in spoken Telugu (vaaduka bhasha),
as opposed to the pure form of written Telugu used by several poets in his time.
Devulapalli Krishnasastri is often referred to as the Shelley of Telugu literature
because of his pioneering works in Telugu Romantic poetry.

Viswanatha Satyanarayana won India's national literary honour, the Jnanpith Award
for his magnum opus Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu.[31] C. Narayana Reddy also
received the award for his contributions to Telugu literature.[32] Kanyasulkam, the
first social play in Telugu by Gurajada Appa Rao, was followed by the progressive
movement, the free verse movement and the Digambara style of Telugu verse.
Other modern Telugu novelists include Unnava Lakshminarayana (Maalapalli),
Bulusu Venkateswarulu (Bharatiya Tatva Sastram), Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao and
Buchi Babu.[10] Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, a well known Telugu poet, has been a
recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. He is best known for his work, Na Desham,
Na Prajalu (My country, My people), which was nominated for the Nobel Prize in
Literature 2004. His works have been translated into many languages. He wrote
under the pen name "Seshen".

Quotes on Telugu

"Desa bhashalandu Telugu Lessa" ("Among the nation's languages, Telugu is the
best") - Sri Krishnadeva Raya.[33]
"...Telugu can be referred as "Italian of the East" because Telugu is the only
language other than Italian where every word ends in a vowel. This gives the
language an enchanting lilting quality when spoken." - Niccolo de Conti, 16th
century Italian traveler [34]

"...Among these five languages, the Telinga appears to be most polished, and
though confessedly a difficult language, it must be numbered among those which
are the most worthy of cultivation; its varierty of inflection being such as to give it a
capacity of expressing ideas with high degree of facilty, justness and elegance..." —
by Rev. W.Carey (April 9, 1814).[35]

"...But those who may at first question the utility of so many letters in the Teloogoo,
will perhaps relinquish most of their objections, when they find that the variety of
sound in this language is greater, and better represented than English..." — A.D
Campbell (1949).[36]

"...In respect of antiquity of culture and glossorial copiousness, Telugu is generally

considered as ranking next to Tamil in the list of Dravidian idioms, whilst in the
point of euphonic sweetness it justly claims to occupy the first place..." — Bishop
Robert Caldwell (1856) [37]

Telugu Learning resources

From English

CP Brown Academy published several books, which are available for free download
from their site.

See also

Telugu language edition of Wiktionary, the free dictionary/thesaurus

Telugu language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cinema of Andhra Pradesh

List of Indian languages by total speakers

List of Telugu language television channels

States of India by Telugu speakers

List of Telugu loanwords

References

^ "Languages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People". Encarta. MSN.com.

http://encarta.msn.com/media_701500404/Languages_Spoken_by_More_Than_10_M
illion_People.html. Retrieved 17 October 2009.

^ a b "Scheduled Languages in Descending Order of Speakers' Strength". 2001

Census. Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
http://web.archive.org/web/20071130133941/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census
_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement4.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-
01.

^ "Image of Indian languages and total speakers".

http://www.ciil.org/Main/Languages/indian.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-13.

^ "Declaration of Telugu and Kannada as classical languages". Press Information

Bureau. Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India.
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=44340. Retrieved 2008-10-31.

^ "Telugu gets classical status". Times of India. 2008-10-01.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Telugu_gets_classical_status/articlesh
ow/3660521.cms. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

^ Velcheru Narayana Rao; David Shulman. Classical Telugu Poetry (2 ed.). The
Regents of the University of California

^ http://asi.nic.in/asi_epigraphical_sans_language.asp

^ History of Kannada language: readership lectures By R. Narasimhacharya

^ The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Telugu is 2,400 years old, says ASI "The
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has joined the Andhra Pradesh Official
Languages Commission to say that early forms of the Telugu language and its script
indeed existed 2,400 years ago"

^ a b c d e f APonline - History and Culture-Languages

^ Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University

Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 0521771110.

^ Rao, M. Malleswara (September 18, 2005). "Telugu declared official language".

The Hindu (Online edition).
http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/18/stories/2005091803740600.htm. Retrieved 2007-
07-16

^ APonline — History and Culture — History-Post-Independence Era

^ 1.9 million speakers as of 2001. "Waddar". Ethnologue.
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=wbq. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

^ 29,000 speakers as of 1981. "Chenchu". Ethnologue.

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cde. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

^ 20,000 speakers as of 2000. "Savara". Ethnologue.

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=svr. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

^ 19,000 speakers as of 1981. "Manna-Dora". Ethnologue.

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mju. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

^ "Dravidian, South-Central, Telugu". Ethnologue.

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=91839. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

^ "Telugu". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=tel.

Retrieved 2007-12-06.

^ Telugulo Chandovisheshaalu, Page 127.

^ Charles Philip Brown. A Grammar of the Telugu language. Kessinger Publishing. p.

266

^ Wals.info

^ Albert Henry Arden (1873). A progressive grammar of the Telugu language.

Society for promoting Christian knowledge. p. 57. http://books.google.com/?
id=tW8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA57&dq=neuter+feminine.

^ Charles Philip Brown (1857). A grammar of the Telugu language (2 ed.). Christian
Knowledge Society's Press. p. 39. http://books.google.com/?
id=pnAIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA39&dq=feminine.

^ Chenchiah, P.; Rao, Raja Bhujanga (1988). A History of Telugu Literature. Asian
Educational Services. p. 16. ISBN 8120603133.

^ Ancient India: English translation of Kitab-ul Hind by Al-Biruni, National Book

Trust, New Delhi

^ Brown, Charles Philip (1857). A Grammar of the Telugu Language. London: W. H.

Allen & Co.. pp. 5. ISBN 812060041X.

^ United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names; United Nations

Statistical Division (2007). Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of
Geographical Names. United Nations Publications. pp. 110. ISBN 9211615003.

^ Chenchiah, P.; Rao, Raja Bhujanga (1988). A History of Telugu Literature. Asian
Educational Services. ISBN 8120603133.
^ Sarma, Challa Radhakrishna (1975). Landmarks in Telugu Literature.
Lakshminarayana Granthamala. pp. 30.

^ Datta, Amaresh; Lal, Mohan (1991). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya

Akademi. pp. 3294.

^ George, K.M. (1992). Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology. Sahitya Akademi.

pp. 1121. ISBN 8172013248.

^ India Times

^ http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=19&c=18

^ Carey, William (1914). A Grammar of the Telinga Language. Serampore: Mission-

Press.

^ Campbell, A.D. (1849). A Grammar of the Teloogoo Language (3rd ed.). Madras,
India: College of Fort St. George.

^ >Caldwell, Robert (1856). A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Or South-

Indian Family of Languages. ISBN 81-206-0117-3. http://books.google.com/?
id=tIORxC68BH0C&pg=RA1-PA146&lpg=RA1-
PA146&dq=Robert+Caldwell+on+telugu&q=telugu.

Bibliography

Albert Henry Arden, A progressive grammar of the Telugu language (1873).

Charles Philip Brown, English-Telugu dictionary (1852; revised ed. 1903; online
edition)

Charles Philip Brown, A grammar of the Telugu language (1857)

P. Percival , Telugu-English dictionary: with the Telugu words printed in the Roman
as well as in the Telugu Character (1862, google books edition)

Gwynn, J. P. L. (John Peter Lucius). A Telugu-English Dictionary Delhi; New York:

Oxford University Press (1991; online edition).

Uwe Gustafsson, An Adiwasi Oriya-Telugu-English dictionary, Central Institute of

Indian Languages Dictionary Series, 6. Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Language
(1989).

Vēlcēru Nārāyaṇarāvu, David Dean Shulman, Velcheru Narayana Rao, Classical

Telugu poetry: an anthology (2002).

Callā Rādhākr̥ṣṇaśarma, Landmarks in Telugu literature: a short survey of Telugu

literature (1975).
External links

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of

Telugu

Look up Telugu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Telugu language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look up telugu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Telugu

'తలుగు'- పద ్్్
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్ి్
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Telugu Online(TOL)- Global Telugu Community Portal.

TeluguThesis - A place for telugu books.

Ethnologue report for Telugu

Hints and resources for learning Telugu

Telugu Language & Literature

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Shabdkosh English to Telugu online dictionary

Telugu website

Website of Prof. Susumu Kuno of Harvard University

The first social networking site for Telugu people.

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