Telugu language: Difference between revisions

{{Short description| Dravidian language of southern India}}

| nativename      = {{lang|te|'''తెలుగు'''}}

| pronunciation    = {{IPA-te|ˈteluɡu|}}

| region          = [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]] <small>(India)</small><br> [[Yanam]] <small>(India)</small>

| speakers        = {{sigfig|81|2}} million

| ref              = <ref name="Ethnologue_tel">{{e22|tel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html |title=Statement 1: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011 |publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |website=censusindia.gov.in |access-date=2018-07-07 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716072837/http://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

| script          = [[Telugu script]]<br />[[Telugu Braille|Bharati Braille (Telugu)]]

*[[West Bengal]] (additional)<ref>{{cite web|date=2020-12-24|title=West Bengal shows 'Mamata' to Telugus|url=https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/west-bengal-shows-mamata-to-telugus-663381|url-status=live|access-date=2020-12-31|website=[[The Hans India]]|language=en|archive-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223184833/https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/west-bengal-shows-mamata-to-telugus-663381}}</ref>

| minority        = *{{flag|South Africa}} {{small|(protected language)}}<ref name=SA>{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions|url=http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|website=gov.za|access-date=6 December 2014|archive-date=28 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028043044/http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|url-status=live}}</ref>

| imagescale      =  

| imagecaption    = The word "Telugu" in [[Telugu script]]

{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

 

'''Telugu''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|l|ᵿ|ɡ|uː}};<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> {{lang|te|[[:te:తెలుగు|తెలుగు]]}}, {{IPA-te|ˈt̪eluɡu}}) is a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]] spoken by [[Telugu people]] native to the Indian states of [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]], where it is also the [[official language]]. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022),<ref>Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). [[ethnologue:tel/|Ethnologue: Languages of the World]]. (26th ed., 2023)</ref> Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family and one of the twenty-two [[Scheduled languages of India|scheduled languages of the Republic of India]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Dravidian languages |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dravidian-languages |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-date=9 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709173402/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dravidian-languages |url-status=live }}</ref> It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]], alongside [[Hindi]] and [[Bengali language|Bengali]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 December 2017 |title=Making Telugu compulsory: Mother tongues, the last stronghold against Hindi imposition |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/making-telugu-compulsory-mother-tongues-last-stronghold-against-hindi-imposition-73014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513182853/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/making-telugu-compulsory-mother-tongues-last-stronghold-against-hindi-imposition-73014 |archive-date=13 May 2022 |access-date=13 May 2022 |website=The News Minute |quote=Again, Telugu is one of the two non-Hindi languages (the other being Bengali) that is the primary state official language of more than one state.}}</ref> Telugu is one of six languages designated as a [[Classical Languages of India|classical language]] by the [[Government of India]].

 

Telugu is also a linguistic minority in the states of [[Karnataka]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Odisha|Orissa]] and the union territories of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] and [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]. It is also spoken by members of the [[Telugu diaspora]] spread across countries like [[Telugu Americans|United States]], [[Indian Australians|Australia]], [[Canada]] in the [[Anglosphere]]; [[Burmese Indians|Myanmar]], [[Malaysian Telugu|Malaysia]], [[Indian South Africans|South Africa]], [[Mauritius]]; and the [[Gulf Cooperation Council|Arabian Gulf]] countries of [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Saudi Arabia]] etc.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oonk |first=Gijsbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkwsMTyShi8C&dq=telugu+diaspora&pg=PA92 |title=Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory |date=2007 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-5356-035-8 |pages=92–116 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130853/https://books.google.com/books?id=BkwsMTyShi8C&dq=telugu+diaspora&pg=PA92 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rajan |first1=S. Irudaya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jm21DwAAQBAJ&dq=telugu+people+gulf&pg=PA281 |title=India's Low-Skilled Migration to the Middle East: Policies, Politics and Challenges |last2=Saxena |first2=Prem |date=2019-10-10 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-13-9224-5 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130925/https://books.google.com/books?id=jm21DwAAQBAJ&dq=telugu+people+gulf&pg=PA281 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Earliest inscriptions with Telugu words date back to between 400 BCE and 100 BCE in [[Bhattiprolu]] of Andhra Pradesh.<ref name="protohistory2">{{citation |last1=Agrawal |first1=D. P. |title=Essays in Indian protohistory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwJuAAAAMAAJ |page=326 |year=1979 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131442/https://books.google.com/books?id=KwJuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live |publisher=The Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies/B.R. Pub. Corp. |isbn=9780391018662 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |last2=Chakrabarti |first2=Dilip K. |author-link1=D. P. Agrawal |author-link2=Dilip K. Chakrabarti}}</ref> Telugu words were also found in the inscriptions of Emperor [[Ashoka]] (257 BCE), [[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahanas]], and [[Vishnukundinas]].<ref name=":42">{{cite news |date=18 December 2017 |title=How Telugu won legal battle for 'classical' tag |website=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/how-telugu-won-legal-battle-for-classical-tag/articleshow/62110737.cms |url-status=live |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727190444/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/how-telugu-won-legal-battle-for-classical-tag/articleshow/62110737.cms |archive-date=27 July 2019}}</ref> Telugu has an [[Telugu literature|unbroken literary tradition]] of over a thousand years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Upinder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cvauDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA29&dq=telugu+literature+11th+century&hl=en |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century (PB) |date=2009 |publisher=Pearson India |isbn=978-93-325-6996-6 |page=29 |language=en |author-link=Upinder Singh}}</ref> Telugu was the court language of various dynasties of [[South India|Southern India]] namely the [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiyas]], [[Vijayanagara Empire]], [[Eastern Chalukyas]], [[Velanati Chodas]], [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutb Shahis]], [[Madurai Nayak dynasty|Madurai Nayaks]], [[Thanjavur Nayak kingdom|Thanjavur Nayaks]], [[Thanjavur Maratha kingdom|Thanjavur Marathas]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dance Traditions of Thanjavur |url=https://www.oberlinlibstaff.com/acceleratedmotion/dancehistory/bharatanatyam/section4.php |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=[[Oberlin College Library|Oberlin College Libraries]] |quote=As Marathi-speaking people running a kingdom administered in the Telugu language, and ruling over a Tamil-speaking population, the Maratha kings developed a uniquely hybrid and innovative courtly culture.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pollock |first=Sheldon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ak9csfpY2WoC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA385&dq=telugu+court+language&hl=en |title=Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia |date=2003-05-19 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-22821-4 |pages=378, 385 |language=en |author-link=Sheldon Pollock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kersenboom |first=Saskia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFR06tVELyIC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA39&dq=telugu+court+language&hl=en |title=Nityasumangali: Devadasi Tradition in South India |last2= |first2= |date=1987 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-0330-5 |pages=32, 39 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGd2huLXEVYC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA142&dq=Qutb+Shahi+Telugu&hl=en |title=A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives |date=2005-11-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-25484-7 |pages=142, 143 |language=en |author-link=Richard M. Eaton}}</ref>

 

 

With over 81 million [[First language|native speakers]] as per the [[2011 Census of India|2011 census]], Telugu is the fourth most spoken language in India and 14th in the world in the [[Ethnologue]] list of [[List of languages by number of native speakers|languages by number of native speakers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size |title=Summary by language size |website=Ethnologue |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-date=11 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911104311/http://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also the fastest-growing foreign language in the [[United States]], where there is a large Telugu-speaking community.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-10-20 |title=Do you speak Telugu? Welcome to America |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45902204 |access-date=2022-08-12 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213071110/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45902204 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also a protected language in [[South Africa]] and is offered as an optional third language in schools in the [[KwaZulu-Natal]] province.<ref name="SA" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-03-21 |title=Telugu to be an official subject in South African schools |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Education-and-Careers/2014-03-21/Telugu-to-be-an-official-subject-in-South-African-schools/89751 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=[[The Hans India]] |language=en |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130925/https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Education-and-Careers/2014-03-21/Telugu-to-be-an-official-subject-in-South-African-schools/89751 |url-status=live }}</ref> Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in the Telugu language.<ref name="Morrison 1997 218">{{cite journal |last1=Morrison |first1=Kathleen D. |last2=Lycett |first2=Mark T. |year=1997 |title=Inscriptions as Artifacts: Precolonial South India and the Analysis of Texts |url=https://instructure-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/account_11160000000081823/attachments/42567515/Morrison%20and%20Lycett%201997_Inscriptions%20as%20Artifacts%20in%20Vijayanagara.pdf?response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3D%22Morrison%20and%20Lycett%201997_Inscriptions%20as%20Artifacts%20in%20Vijayanagara.pdf%22%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27Morrison%2520and%2520Lycett%25201997%255FInscriptions%2520as%2520Artifacts%2520in%2520Vijayanagara.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJFNFXH2V2O7RPCAA%2F20170219%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20170219T040950Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=169465afbba6ed9475c43780668095b81c9b8a8ff3b01b54af9aeeb7919a3326 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory |publisher=Springer |volume=4 |issue=3/4 |page=218 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219180727/https://instructure-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/account_11160000000081823/attachments/42567515/Morrison%20and%20Lycett%201997_Inscriptions%20as%20Artifacts%20in%20Vijayanagara.pdf?response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3D%22Morrison%20and%20Lycett%201997_Inscriptions%20as%20Artifacts%20in%20Vijayanagara.pdf%22%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27Morrison%2520and%2520Lycett%25201997%255FInscriptions%2520as%2520Artifacts%2520in%2520Vijayanagara.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJFNFXH2V2O7RPCAA%2F20170219%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20170219T040950Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=169465afbba6ed9475c43780668095b81c9b8a8ff3b01b54af9aeeb7919a3326 |archive-date=19 February 2017 |doi=10.1007/BF02428062|s2cid=143958738 }}</ref>

{{Location map~ |India |lat=18.85|long=79.9|label=Kaleshwaram|position=right}}

Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simply ''Telugu'' or ''Telugoo''.{{sfn|Rao|Shulman|2002|loc=Chapter 2}} Older forms of the name include ''Teluṅgu'' and ''Tenuṅgu''.<ref>{{citation |first=Asko |last=Parpola |author-link=Asko Parpola |title=The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0190226923 |page=167}}</ref> ''Tenugu'' is derived from the [[Proto-Dravidian language|Proto-Dravidian]] word ''*ten'' ("south")<ref>{{Cite book |title=Telugu Basha Charitra |publisher=Osmania University |year=1979 |location=Hyderabad |pages=6, 7}}</ref> to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction" (relative to Sanskrit and [[Prakrit]]-speaking peoples). The name ''Telugu'', then, is a result of an "n" to "l" alternation established in Telugu.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Dravidian Languages – Bhadriraju Krishnamurti}}</ref>{{sfn|Rao|Shulman|2002|loc=Introduction}}

Another view{{Whose|date=July 2019}} holds that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it the ''Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar)''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chenchiah |first1=P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xwXx7LB-ai4C&pg=PA55 |title=A History of Telugu Literature |last2=Rao |first2=Raja M. Bhujanga |publisher=Asian Educational Services |year=1988 |isbn=978-81-206-0313-4 |page=55 |access-date=26 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130924/https://books.google.com/books?id=xwXx7LB-ai4C&pg=PA55 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Appa-kavi|Appa Kavi]] in the 17th century explicitly wrote that ''Telugu'' was derived from ''Trilinga''. Scholar Charles P. Brown made a comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation.<ref>{{citation |last=Brown |first=Charles P. |title=Madras Journal of Literature and Science |volume=X |page=53 |year=1839 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130924/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhkYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA53 |chapter=Essay on the Language and Literature of Telugus |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhkYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA53 |publisher=Vepery mission Press. |access-date=26 January 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |author-link=Charles Phillip Brown |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[George Abraham Grierson]] and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that ''Telugu'' was the older term and ''Trilinga'' must be the later [[Sanskritisation]] of it.<ref name="Grierson1967">{{Linguistic Survey of India|4|year=1967|orig-year=1906|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|place=Delhi|chapter=Telugu|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_tel_detail-1|access-date=12 June 2014|p=576}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Sekaram |first=Kandavalli Balendu |title=The Andhras through the ages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6E5AQAAIAAJ |page=4 |year=1973 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130925/https://books.google.com/books?id=E6E5AQAAIAAJ |publisher=Sri Saraswati Book Depot |quote="The easier and more ancient "Telugu" appears to have been converted here into the impressive Sanskrit word Trilinga, and making use of its enormous prestige as the classical language, the theory was put forth that the word Trilinga is the mother and not the child." |access-date=25 January 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> If so the derivation itself must have been quite ancient because ''Triglyphum'', ''Trilingum'' and ''Modogalingam'' are attested in ancient Greek sources, the last of which can be interpreted as a Telugu rendition of "''Trilinga''".<ref>{{citation |last=Caldwell |first=Robert |title=A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages |url=http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil_elib/Cdw856__Caldwell_ComparativeGrammarDravidian.pdf |page=64 |year=1856 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil_elib/Cdw856__Caldwell_ComparativeGrammarDravidian.pdf |location=London |publisher=Harrison |archive-date=2022-10-09 |author-link=Robert Caldwell |url-status=live}}</ref>

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| header           = Satavahana bilingual coinage in Prakrit and Dravidian (c.150 CE)

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| image1           = Satavahanas. Sri Vasisthiputra Pulumavi.jpg

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| image2           = Vasishthiputra Pulumavi coin legend.jpg

| caption2         = Bilingual coinage of [[Satavahana]] Emperor Sri [[Vasishthiputra Pulumavi]] in [[Prakrit]] and Dravidian, and transcription of the obverse [[Prakrit]] legend.<br /><br />'''Obverse:''' Portrait of the king. Legend in [[Prakrit]] in the [[Brahmi script]] (starting at 12 o'clock):<br />'''𑀭𑀜𑁄 𑀯𑀸𑀲𑀺𑀣𑀺𑀧𑀼𑀢𑀲 𑀲𑀺𑀭𑀺 𑀧𑀼𑀎𑀼𑀫𑀸𑀯𑀺𑀲'''<br />''Raño Vāsiṭhiputasa Siri-Puḷumāvisa''<br />"Of King Lord Pulumavi, son of Vasishthi"<br /><br />'''Reverse:''' [[Ujjain]] and [[Arched-hill symbol|arched-hill]] symbols. Legend in [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] (closer to Tamil than Telugu),<ref name="Sircar113">{{cite book |last=Sircar |first=D. C. |date=2008 |title=Studies in Indian Coins |edition=Reprint |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-2973-2 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA113 |language=en |access-date=8 September 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130925/https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA113 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Dravidian script,<ref name="Sircar113"/> similar to the Brahmi script<ref name="AEX"/> (starting at 12 o'clock):<br />'''𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀡𑀓𑀼 𑀯𑀸𑀳𑀺𑀣𑀺 𑀫𑀸𑀓𑀡𑀓𑀼 𑀢𑀺𑀭𑀼 𑀧𑀼𑀮𑀼𑀫𑀸𑀯𑀺𑀓𑀼'''<br />''Arahaṇaku Vāhitti Mākaṇaku Tiru Pulumāviku''<ref>{{cite book |title=Epigraphia Āndhrica |date=1969 |publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh |page=XV |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek5mAAAAMAAJ&q=Arahanaku+Vahitti+Makanaku+Tiru+Pulumaviku |language=en |access-date=8 September 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130926/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek5mAAAAMAAJ&q=Arahanaku+Vahitti+Makanaku+Tiru+Pulumaviku |url-status=live }}</ref><br />or: ''Aracanaku Vācitti Makaṇaku Tiru Pulumāviku''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nākacāmi |first1=Irāmaccantiran̲ |last2=Nagaswamy |first2=R. |title=Tamil Coins: A Study |date=1981 |publisher=Institute of Epigraphy, Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology |page=132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VjsfAAAAMAAJ |language=en |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130926/https://books.google.com/books?id=VjsfAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><br />"Of King Tiru Pulumavi, son of Vasishthi"<ref name="AEX">"The Sātavāhana issues are uniscriptural, Brahmi but bilingual, Prākrit and Telugu." in {{cite book |title=Epigraphia Andhrica |date=1975 |page=x |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7u1AAAAIAAJ |language=en |access-date=7 September 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131426/https://books.google.com/books?id=D7u1AAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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According to linguist [[Bhadriraju Krishnamurti]], Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends from [[Proto-Dravidian]], a [[proto-language]]. [[Linguistic reconstruction]] suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/proto-dravidian |title=Proto-Dravidian |work=Harvard |access-date=25 March 2014 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101233449/https://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/proto-dravidian |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Russian linguist Mikhail S. Andronov, Telugu split from the Proto-Dravidian language between 1500 and 1000 BCE.<ref>"Indian Encyclopaedia – Volume 1", p. 2067, by Subodh Kapoor, Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd, 2002</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/proto-dravidian|title=Proto-Dravidian Info|work=lists.hcs.harvard.edu|access-date=25 March 2014|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101233449/https://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/proto-dravidian|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Prakrit]] Inscriptions with some Telugu words dating back to between 400 BCE and 100 BCE have been discovered in [[Bhattiprolu]] in the [[Guntur district]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name="protohistory">{{citation |first1=D. P. |last1=Agrawal |author-link1=D. P. Agrawal |first2=Dilip K. |last2=Chakrabarti |author-link2=Dilip K. Chakrabarti |title=Essays in Indian protohistory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwJuAAAAMAAJ |year=1979 |publisher=The Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies/B.R. Pub. Corp. |page=326 |isbn=9780391018662 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131442/https://books.google.com/books?id=KwJuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The English translation of an inscription reads, "gift of the slab by venerable Midikilayakha".<ref name="Hindu">[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article1971071.ece The Hindu News: Telugu is 2,400 years old, says ASI] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903183458/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article1971071.ece |date=3 September 2015 }} "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"</ref><ref>Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts, C. S. Murthy, 1952, Bulletins of the Madras Government Museum, New Series IV, General Section, Vol III, No. 4</ref><ref name="The Bhattiprolu Inscriptions">Buhler, G. (1894), [[Epigraphia Indica]], Vol. 2</ref>

The Bhattiprolu stone Buddhist casket in proto-Telugu belongs to BCE 300,<ref name="The Bhattiprolu Inscriptions" />{{rp|232}} the Erragudi Asokan Rock Edict in Proto-Telugu belongs to 257 BCE,<ref>DC Sarkar’s [[Ashoka|Ashokan]] Studies, Calcutta, 1979. Pages 7–8</ref> the Ghantasala Brahmin inscription<ref>Epigraphia Indica, Vol. 27 1947–48, pp. 1-4</ref> and the pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni, Vijayapuri, and Nagarjunakonda belong to first century CE. Further, Tummalagudem inscription of [[Vishnukundina dynasty|Vishnukundinas]] belongs to 5th century CE.<ref>Epigraphia Andhrika, Vol. II. Pages 9 to 14</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite news |title=How Telugu won legal battle for 'classical' tag |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/how-telugu-won-legal-battle-for-classical-tag/articleshow/62110737.cms |website=The Times of India |date=18 December 2017 |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727190444/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/how-telugu-won-legal-battle-for-classical-tag/articleshow/62110737.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=R.Gandhi vs The Secretary to the Government |url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24294042/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819015314/https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24294042/ |archive-date=19 August 2018 |access-date=9 May 2018 |website=[[Indian Kanoon]]}}</ref>

One of the first words in the Telugu language, "Nagabu", was found in a Sanskrit inscription of the 1st century BCE at [[Amaravathi (village), Guntur district|Amaravathi]] (not to be confused with the newly planned city of [[Amaravati]]).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/follow-the-path-of-veturi-in-research-students-urged/article7601354.ece|title=Follow the path of Veturi in research, students urged|author=Staff Reporter|newspaper=The Hindu|date=1 September 2015|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809015617/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/follow-the-path-of-veturi-in-research-students-urged/article7601354.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jonnalagaddanarasimha.blogspot.com/2010/08/classical-language-status-for-telugu_8703.html|title=Vision of Life: Classical Language status for Telugu|date=29 August 2010|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=15 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715171203/http://jonnalagaddanarasimha.blogspot.com/2010/08/classical-language-status-for-telugu_8703.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Telugu words were also found in the Dharmasila inscription of Emperor [[Ashoka]]. A number of Telugu words were found in the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions of the [[Satavahana|Satavahana dynasty]], [[Vishnukundinas|Vishnukundina dynasty]], and [[Andhra Ikshvaku]].<ref name=":42" /> The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods, used a [[Prakrit]] dialect without exception. Some reverse coin legends are in Telugu,{{sfn|Carla M. Sinopoli|2001|p=163}}<ref name="MP">{{cite book |last=Pollock |first=Sheldon |title=The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India |publisher=University of California Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-5202-4500-6 |page=290}}</ref> and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] languages.<ref name="Taylor & Francis">{{cite book |last1=Yandell |first1=Keith E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucMeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 |title=Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India |last2=Paul |first2=John J. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-81808-0 |page=253 |access-date=3 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131438/https://books.google.com/books?id=ucMeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Telugu lore, its grammar has a prehistoric past. The Sage [[Kanva]] was said to be the language's first grammarian. A. Rajeswara Sarma discussed the historicity and content of Kanva's grammar. He cited twenty grammatical aphorisms ascribed to Kanva, and concluded that Kanva wrote an ancient Telugu Grammar which was lost.<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhXRDSgBuL0C&q=telugu+country&pg=PA33| title=The Buddha-Dhamma, Or, the Life and Teachings of the Buddha| isbn=9788120605596| author1=Nārada (Maha Thera)| last2=Narasimhacharya| first2=Ramanujapuram| year=1999| access-date=3 October 2020| archive-date=13 October 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131431/https://books.google.com/books?id=yhXRDSgBuL0C&q=telugu+country&pg=PA33| url-status=live}}</ref>

The period from 4th century CE to 1022 CE corresponds to the second phase of Telugu history, after the [[Andhra Ikshvaku]] period. This is evidenced by the first inscription that is entirely in Telugu, dated 575&nbsp;CE, which was found in the [[Rayalaseema]] region and is attributed to the [[Telugu Chodas (dynasties)|Renati Chodas]], 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 neighbouring regions.<ref>Period of Old [https://viralvidos.com/teluguwap-net-earn-money-online/ Telugu Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819015308/https://viralvidos.com/teluguwap-net-earn-money-online/ |date=19 August 2018 }} – 3 November 2015</ref> The Madras Museum plates of Balliya-Choda dated to the mid-ninth century CE are the earliest copper plate grants in the Telugu language.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indian Epigraphy, Volume 10 of Epigraphy, Palaeography, Numismatics Series|author=D. C. Sircar|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1996|page=50}}</ref>

 

Telugu was more influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit during this period, which corresponded to the advent of Telugu literature. Telugu literature was initially found in inscriptions and poetry in the courts of the rulers, and later in written works such as [[Nannayya]]'s [[Mahabharata|''Mahabharatam'']] (1022&nbsp;CE).<ref name="APOnline">{{cite web|url=http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/HIST-CULT/languages.html|title=APonline – History and Culture-Languages<!-- Bot generated title -->|work=aponline.gov.in|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208110254/http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/HIST-CULT/languages.html|archive-date=8 February 2012}}</ref> During the time of Nannayya, the literary language diverged from the popular language. It was also a period of phonetic changes in the spoken language.

A distinct dialect developed in present-day [[Telangana]] region, due to [[Persian language|Persian]]/[[Arabic]] influence: the [[Delhi Sultanate]] of the [[Tughlaq dynasty]] was established earlier in the northern [[Deccan Plateau]] during the 14th century. In the latter half of the 17th century, the [[Mughal Empire]] extended further south, culminating in the establishment of the [[Hyderabad State]] by the dynasty of the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] in 1724. This heralded an era of [[Persian literature|Persian]] influence on the Telugu language, especially Hyderabad State. The effect is also evident in the prose of the early 19th century, as in the ''[[kaifiyat]]s''.<ref name="APOnline" />

The 15th-century Venetian explorer [[Niccolò de' Conti]], who visited the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], found that the words in the Telugu language end with vowels, just like those in [[Italian language|Italian]], and hence referred to it as "The Italian of the East";<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/when-foreigners-fell-in-love-with-telugu-language/article4227784.ece|title=When foreigners fell in love with Telugu language|first=M. Malleswara|last=Rao|newspaper=The Hindu|date=22 December 2012|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808053858/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/when-foreigners-fell-in-love-with-telugu-language/article4227784.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> a saying that has been widely repeated.<ref name="Morris2005">{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Henry|title=A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Godavery District in the Presidency of Madras|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0AOJBShvRAC&pg=PA86|year=2005|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1973-9|page=86|access-date=29 January 2017|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131427/https://books.google.com/books?id=P0AOJBShvRAC&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Krishnamurti |first1=Bhadriraju |title=A Grammar of Modern Telugu |last2=Gwynn |first2=J.P.L. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1985 |location=New Delhi}}</ref>

* Telugu is one of the 22 [[languages with official status in India]]<ref>{{cite web |title=PART A Languages specified in the Eighth Schedule (Scheduled Languages) |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190612/http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement1.htm |archive-date=2013-10-29}}</ref>

* The Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu the official language of the state that is currently divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rao |first=M. Malleswara |title=Telugu declared official language |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=18 September 2005 |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/18/stories/2005091803740600.htm |access-date=16 July 2007 |archive-date=10 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810140217/http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/18/stories/2005091803740600.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="APOnline2">{{cite web|url=http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/hist-cult/history_post.html|title=AP Fact File: Post-Independence Era|work=aponline.gov.in|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220113947/http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/hist-cult/history_post.html|archive-date=20 December 2013}}</ref>

*[[Telugu Language Day]] is celebrated every year on 29 August, the birthday of Telugu poet [[Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2010-08-26|title=Telugu Language Day on August 29|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/Telugu-Language-Day-on-August-29/article16145571.ece|access-date=2020-12-04|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022221551/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/Telugu-Language-Day-on-August-29/article16145571.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Telugu Language Day 2020: 6 Tollywood songs that emphasize the importance of Telugu language|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/telugu-language-day-2020-6-tollywood-songs-that-emphasize-the-importance-of-telugu-language/articleshow/77818454.cms|access-date=2020-12-04|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415110338/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/telugu-language-day-2020-6-tollywood-songs-that-emphasize-the-importance-of-telugu-language/articleshow/77818454.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

* The fourth [[World Telugu Conference]] was organised in [[Tirupati]] in the last week of December 2012. Issues related to [[Telugu language policy]] were deliberated at length.

* The American Community Survey has said that data for 2016 which were released in September 2017 showed Telugu is the third most widely spoken Indian language in the US. Hindi tops the list followed by Gujarati, as of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.census.gov/ |title= Language spoken at home by ability to speak english for the population 5 years and over |work= [[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= 2 December 2017 |archive-date= 27 December 1996 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status= live }}  Note: Excluding other languages with many speakers outside India such as Urdu</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bhattacharya |first=Ananya |date=2018-09-24 |title=America's fastest growing foreign language is from south India |url=https://qz.com/india/1399825/telugu-is-uss-fastest-growing-foreign-language/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812083339/https://qz.com/india/1399825/telugu-is-uss-fastest-growing-foreign-language/ |archive-date=12 August 2022 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref>

{{Main article|States of India by Telugu speakers}}

[[File:Telugu speakers in India.png|thumb|Geographic distribution of Telugu immigrants in light blue; Telugu is native to dark blue.]]

Telugu is natively spoken in the states of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]] and [[Yanam (India)|Yanam]] district of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]. Telugu speakers are also found in the neighboring states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Odisha]], [[Chhattisgarh]], some parts of [[Jharkhand]] and the [[Kharagpur, West Bengal|Kharagpur]] region of [[West Bengal]] in India. Many Telugu immigrants are also found in the states of [[Gujarat]], [[Goa]], [[Bihar]], [[Kashmir]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab]], [[Haryana]] and [[Rajasthan]]. At 7.2% of the population, Telugu is the fourth-most-spoken language in the Indian subcontinent after [[Hindi]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]]. In [[Karnataka]], 7.0% of the population speak Telugu, and 5.6% in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html |title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |accessdate=2022-03-22 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728125958/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

There are more than 1,000,000 [[Telugu Americans]] in the [[United States]], with the highest concentration in [[Central Jersey|Central]] [[New Jersey]], also known as ''Little Andhra''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ny.eater.com/2017/3/13/14902030/the-best-indian-food-in-new-york-is-in-new-jersey |title=The Best Indian Food in New York is Actually in New Jersey |website=ny.eater.com |date=13 March 2017 |access-date=17 June 2017 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209133910/https://ny.eater.com/2017/3/13/14902030/the-best-indian-food-in-new-york-is-in-new-jersey |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2023}} As of 2018, Telugu is the fastest-growing [[Languages of the United States|language in the United States]], with the number of Telugu speakers in the United States increasing by 86% between 2010 and 2017.<ref>{{cite news|title=Do you speak Telugu? Welcome to America|publisher=BBC News|date=20 October 2018|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45902204|access-date=24 December 2019|archive-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213071110/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45902204|url-status=live}}</ref> Minority Telugus are also found in [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Bahrain]], [[Canada]], [[Fiji]], [[Malaysia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Singapore]], [[Mauritius]], [[Myanmar]], [[Europe]] ([[Italy]], the [[United Kingdom]]), [[South Africa]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]].

Telugu is the [[official language]] of the Indian states of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]]. It is one of the [[Languages with official status in India|22 languages under schedule 8 of the constitution of India]]. It is one of the official languages of the union territories of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]. Telugu is a protected language in [[South Africa]]. According to the [[Constitution of South Africa]], the [[Pan South African Language Board]] must promote and ensure respect for Telugu along with other languages.<ref>{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions {{!}} South African Government|url=https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|access-date=2021-01-06|website=gov.za|archive-date=18 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518042037/https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Government of South Africa]] announced that Telugu will be re-included as the official subject in the South African schools after it was removed from the curriculum in state schools.

In addition, with the creation in October 2004 of a legal status for classical languages by the [[Government of India]] and following a political campaign supported by several Tamil associations,<ref>{{cite web|date=2020-01-14|title=Explained: How is a language declared 'classical' in India, what benefits it enjoys|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-is-a-language-declared-classical-in-india-what-benefits-it-enjoys-6216415/|access-date=2021-01-06|website=The Indian Express|language=en|archive-date=7 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107165557/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-is-a-language-declared-classical-in-india-what-benefits-it-enjoys-6216415/|url-status=live}}</ref> on 8 August 2008, Telugu was also given the classical language status due to several campaigns.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vice President stresses the need to preserve and promote classical languages|url=http://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1599865|access-date=2021-01-06|website=pib.gov.in|language=en|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109141713/https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1599865|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dec 18|first1=tnn / Updated|last2=2017|title=How Telugu won legal battle for 'classical' tag {{!}} Hyderabad News|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/how-telugu-won-legal-battle-for-classical-tag/articleshow/62110737.cms|access-date=2021-01-06|website=The Times of India|date=18 December 2017 |language=en|archive-date=27 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727190444/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/how-telugu-won-legal-battle-for-classical-tag/articleshow/62110737.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Copper plates NMND-9.JPG|thumb|Telugu script on Copper plates, [[Eastern Chalukya]], 10th century CE.]]

{{Main|Early Telugu epigraphy}}According to the famous Japanese historian [[Noboru Karashima]] who served as the president of the Epigraphical Society of India in 1985, there are approximately 10,000 inscriptions which exist in the Telugu language as of the year 1996 making it one of the most densely inscribed languages.<ref name="Morrison 1997 218"/> Telugu inscriptions are found in all the districts of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and Telangana.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="WebpageNotGIF">{{cite journal |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/socialscientist/pager.html?objectid=HN681.S597_269-71_012.gif |title=Emergence of Regional Identity and Beginning of Vernacular Literature: A Case Study of Telugu |journal=Social Scientist |volume=23 |number=10–12 |pages=8–23 |doi=10.2307/3517880 |jstor=3517880 |year=1995 |last1=Nagaraju |first1=S. |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413224331/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/socialscientist/pager.html?objectid=HN681.S597_269-71_012.gif |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name = gi>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CMskDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 |title=The Language of the Gods in the World of Men |first=Sheldon |last=Pollock |page=421 |isbn=9780520245006 |date=2006-05-23 |access-date=3 December 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131427/https://books.google.com/books?id=CMskDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name = yo /> They are also found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, and Chhattisgarh.<ref name = fe>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBchTO0NS0EC&pg=PA45 |title=Language, Emotion, and Politics in South India: The Making of a Mother Tongue |first=Lisa |last=Mitchell |page=45 |isbn=978-0253353016 |year=2009 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131428/https://books.google.com/books?id=fBchTO0NS0EC&pg=PA45 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name = yo>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSfoCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA263 |title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra |first=Cynthia |last=Talbot |pages=50, 263 |isbn=9780195136616 |year=2001 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131428/https://books.google.com/books?id=HSfoCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA263 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name = as>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUwFL3IipK0C&pg=PA161 |title=Dimensions of Human Cultures in Central India: Professor S.K. Tiwari Felication Volume |editor=A.A. Abbasi |page=161 |isbn=9788176251860 |year=2001 |access-date=2 December 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131429/https://books.google.com/books?id=jUwFL3IipK0C&pg=PA161 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC&pg=PA100 |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Other Indo-European Languages |first=Richard |last=Salomon |page=100 |isbn=9780195356663 |date=1998-12-10 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131429/https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC&pg=PA100 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to recent estimates by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) the number of inscriptions in the Telugu language goes up to 14,000.<ref name="WebpageNotGIF" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&q=telugu+inscriptions+in+adilabad+district+pre+colonial&pg=PA50 |title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra |isbn=9780198031239 |last1=Talbot |first1=Cynthia |date=2001-09-20 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131430/https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&q=telugu+inscriptions+in+adilabad+district+pre+colonial&pg=PA50 |url-status=live }}</ref> Adilabad, Nizamabad, Hyderabad, Anantapur, and Chittoor produced no more than a handful of Telugu inscriptions in the Kakatiya era between 1175 CE and 1324 CE.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&q=telugu+inscriptions+in+adilabad+district+pre+colonial&pg=PA50 |title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra |first=Cynthia |last=Talbot |date=20 September 2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |via=Google Books |isbn=9780198031239 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131430/https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&q=telugu+inscriptions+in+adilabad+district+pre+colonial&pg=PA50 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVzUAAAAMAAJ&q=telugu+inscriptions+in+adilabad |title=Gifts to Gods and Brahmins: A Study of Religious Endowments in Medieval Andhra |first=Cynthia |last=Talbot |date=15 July 1988 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] |via=Google Books |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131436/https://books.google.com/books?id=KVzUAAAAMAAJ&q=telugu+inscriptions+in+adilabad |url-status=live }}</ref>

Andhra is characterised as having its own mother tongue, and its territory has been equated with the extent of the Telugu language. The equivalence between the Telugu linguistic sphere and the geographical boundaries of Andhra is also brought out in an eleventh-century description of Andhra boundaries. Andhra, according to this text, was bounded in north by Mahendra mountain in the modern [[Ganjam district]] in [[Odisha]] and to the south by [[Srikalahasteeswara temple]] in [[Chittoor district]].{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} However, [[Andhra]] extended westwards as far as [[Srisailam]] in [[Kurnool district]], about halfway across the modern state.<ref name = a>{{cite book |first=Cynthia |last=Talbot |title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&pg=PA34 |date=20 September 2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803123-9 |pages=34– |access-date=17 May 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131430/https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&pg=PA34 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to other sources in the early sixteenth century, the northern boundary is [[Simhachalam]] and the southern limit is [[Tirumala]] of the Telugu Nation.<ref name = b>{{cite book|author1=Velcheru Narayana Rao|first2=David|last2=Shulman|title=Classical Telugu Poetry: An Anthology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8UkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6|year=2002|publisher=Univ of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22598-5|pages=6–|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131434/https://books.google.com/books?id=r8UkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= c>{{cite book|title=International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics: IJDL.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XVkAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala.|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131430/https://books.google.com/books?id=_XVkAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= d>{{cite book|first=Ajay K.|last=Rao|title=Re-figuring the Ramayana as Theology: A History of Reception in Premodern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUyvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|date=3 October 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-07735-9|pages=37–|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131431/https://books.google.com/books?id=OUyvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name = e>{{cite book|author=S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar|title=Evolution of Hindu Administrative Institutions in South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6jRR9yu-u4kC&pg=PA6|year=1994|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0966-2|pages=6–|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131434/https://books.google.com/books?id=6jRR9yu-u4kC&pg=PA6|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= f>{{cite book|first=Cynthia|last=Talbot|title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSfoCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA195|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-513661-6|pages=195–|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131942/https://books.google.com/books?id=HSfoCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA195|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=g>{{cite book|first=Sambaiah|last=Gundimeda|title=Dalit Politics in Contemporary India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqXbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT205|date=14 October 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-38104-4|pages=205–}}</ref>

Telugu place names are present all around Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Common suffixes are -''ooru, -pudi, -pedu, -peta, -patnam, -wada,'' -''gallu, -cherla, -seema, -gudem, -palle, -palem'' and -''palli''. Examples that use this nomenclature are [[Nellore]], [[Tadepalligudem]], [[Guntur]], [[Chintalapudi, West Godavari district|Chintalapudi]], [[Yerpedu]], [[Narasaraopeta]], [[Sattenapalle]], [[Visakapatnam]], [[Vizianagaram]], [[Ananthagiri Hills|Ananthagiri]], [[Vijayawada]], [[Vuyyuru]], [[Macherla]], [[Poranki]], [[Ramagundam]], [[Warangal]], [[Mancherial]], [[Peddapalli]], [[Siddipet]], [[Banswada]], and [[Miryalaguda]].

{{Main|Telangana Baasha}}

There are six major dialects in Modern Telugu:<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bhadriraju |first1=Krishnamurti |title=A Grammar of Modern Telugu |last2=Gwynn |first2=J.P.L. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1985 |location=New Delhi |pages=xvii-xviii}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[Waddar language|Waddar]], [[Chenchu language|Chenchu]], and [[Manna-Dora language|Manna-Dora]] are all closely related to Telugu.<ref>{{glotto|telu1265|Teluguic}}</ref> Other dialects of Telugu are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Vadaga, Srikakula, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Rayalaseema, Nellore, Guntur, Vadari and Yanadi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tel |title=Telugu |publisher=Ethnologue |access-date=30 March 2016 |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819015319/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tel |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Roman transliteration used for transcribing the Telugu script is the [[National Library at Kolkata romanisation]].

The table below lists the consonantal phonemes of Telugu,<ref name=":0">Krishnamurti (1998), "Telugu". In Steever (ed.), ''The Dravidian Languages''. Routledge. pp. 202–240, 260</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Bhaskararao|first1=Peri|last2=Ray|first2=Arpita|date=2017|title=Illustrations of the IPA – Telugu|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|volume=47|issue=2|pages=231–241|doi=10.1017/S0025100316000207|s2cid=232346235}}</ref> along with the symbols used in the transliteration of the Telugu script used here.

![[Postalveolar consonant|Post-alv.]]/<br />[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]

!rowspan=4|[[Stop consonant|Stop]]/<br />[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]

|'''{{IPA|t}}''' t <br /> '''t͡s''' ts

|'''{{IPA|k}}''' k

|

|'''{{IPA|d}}''' d <br /> '''d͡z''' dz

|

!colspan=2|[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]*

|'''{{IPA|ʃ}}''' ś

|'''{{IPA|h}}''' h

!colspan=2|[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]

!colspan=2|[[Tap consonant|Tap]]

* The aspirated and breathy-voiced consonants occur mostly in Sanskrit and Prakrit loanwords, additionally /tʰ/ is used to substitute /θ/ in English loans, the only aspirate which occurs natively is /dʱ/ which occurs only in a few compound numbers e.g. /pɐddʱenimidi/ "18" likely a result of the proto Dravidian laryngeal */H/<ref name="bhk">{{Cite book |title= The Dravidian Languages |last= Krishnamurti |first= Bhadriraju |year= 2003 |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn= 978-0-521-77111-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC |access-date= 8 December 2021 |archive-date= 13 October 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131939/https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC |url-status= live }}</ref> there is also an unaspirated /pɐddenimidi/ version which is used more commonly. All of the fricatives except for native {{IPA|/s/}} also only occurs in loanwords.<ref name=":1"/>

* /ʋ/ can be rounded to a [β̞ʷ] around rounded vowels.<ref name=":1"/>

* /ɡɐ'''d'''i/ ''gadi'' (room) – /ɡɐ'''dː'''i/ ''gaddi'' (throne)'

* /ɐ'''ʈ'''u/ ''aṭu'' (that side) – /ɐ'''ʈː'''u/ ''aṭṭu'' (pancake)

* /mo'''ɡ'''ɐ/ ''moga'' (male) – /moɡːɐ/ ''mogga'' (bud)

* /nɐ'''m'''ɐkɐmu/ ''namakamu'' (a vedic hymn) – /nɐ'''mː'''ɐkɐmu/ ''nammakamu'' (belief)

* /kɐ'''n'''u/ ''kanu'' (to give birth to) – /kɐ'''nː'''u/ ''kannu'' (eye)

* /kɐ'''l'''ɐ/ ''kala'' (dream) – /kɐ'''lː'''ɐ/ ''kalla'' (falsehood)

* /mɐɾi/ ''ma'''r'''i'' (again) – /mɐ'''ɾː'''i/ ''marri'' (banyan tree)

All [[retroflex consonant]]s occur in intervocalic position and when adjacent to a retroflex consonant, for instance. /ʋɐː'''ɳ'''iː/ ''vāṇī'' 'tippet', /kɐ'''ʈɳ'''ɐm/ ''kaṭṇam'' 'dowry', /pɐ'''ɳɖ'''u/ ''paṇḍu'' 'fruit'; /kɐ'''ɭ'''ɐ/ ''kaḷa'' 'art', /bɐː'''ɭʈ'''i/ ''bāḷṭi'' 'bucket' (from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''balde'' 'bucket'). With the exception of /ɳ/ and /ɭ/, all occur word-initial in a few words, such as /'''ʈ'''ɐkːu/ ''ṭakku'' 'pretence', /'''ʈ^h'''iːʋi/ ''ṭhīvi'' 'grandeur', /'''ɖ'''ipːɐ/ ''ḍippā'' 'half of a spherical object', /'''ɖ^ɦ'''oːkɐː/ ''ḍhōkā'' 'danger', and /'''ʂ'''oːku/ ''ṣōku'' 'fashionable appearance'.<ref name=":1" />

The approximant /j/ occurs in word-initial position only in borrowed words, such as. /'''j'''ɐnɡu/ ''yangu'', from English 'young', /'''j'''ɐʃɐsːu/ ''yaśassu'' from Sanskrit ''yaśas'' /jɑʃɑs/ 'fame'.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]

! colspan="2" |[[Central vowel|Central]]

! colspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]

![[Close vowel|Close]]

|'''{{IPA|i}}'''⠀ఇ⠀''i''||'''{{IPA|iː}}'''⠀ఈ⠀''ī''

|'''{{IPA|u}}'''⠀ఉ⠀''u''||'''{{IPA|uː}}'''⠀ఊ⠀''ū''

![[Mid vowel|Mid]]

|'''{{IPA|e}}'''⠀ఎ⠀''e''||'''{{IPA|eː}}'''⠀ఏ⠀''ē''

|'''{{IPA|o}}'''⠀ఒ⠀''o''||'''{{IPA|oː}}'''⠀ఓ⠀''ō''

![[Open vowel|Open]]

|'''{{IPA|a ~ ɐ}}'''<ref name=":1" />⠀అ⠀''a''||'''{{IPA|aː}}''' ~ '''ɐː'''⠀ఆ⠀''ā''

Roots alter according to whether the first vowel is tense or lax.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wilkinson|1974|p=251}}</ref>{{fix|text=need illustrations}} Also, if the second vowel is open (i.e., {{IPA|/aː/}} or {{IPA|/a/}}), then the first vowel is more open and centralized (e.g., {{IPA|[m'''ɛː'''ka]}} 'goat', as opposed to {{IPA|[m'''eː'''ku]}} 'nail').{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} Telugu words also have vowels in inflectional suffixes that are harmonized with the vowels of the preceding syllable.<ref>A Grammar of the Telugu Language, p. 295, [[Charles Philip Brown]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=JOgUAAAAYAAJ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131933/https://books.google.com/books?id=JOgUAAAAYAAJ|date=13 October 2022}}</ref>

The traditional study of Telugu Grammar is known as ''vyākaraṇam'' (వ్యాకరణం). The first treatise on Telugu grammar, the ''Āndhra Śabda Cinṭāmaṇi'', was written in Sanskrit by [[Nannayya]], considered the first Telugu poet and translator, in the 12th century CE. This grammar followed patterns described in grammatical treatises such as ''[[Aṣṭādhyāyī]]'' and [[Pāṇini|''Vālmīkivyākaranam'']], but unlike [[Pāṇini]], Nannayya divided his work into five chapters, covering ''samjnā'', ''[[sandhi]]'', ''ajanta'', ''[[halanta]]'' and ''kriya''. Every Telugu grammatical rule is derived from [[Pāṇini]]an concepts.

 

The example above can also be interpreted as 'Ambedkar will go to school', depending on the context, but it does not affect the SOV order.

 

 

 

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|{{interlinear|lang=tel|terucā'''-ḍu'''|He opened}}

|{{interlinear|lang=tel|terucā-'''ru'''|They opened}}

|{{interlinear|lang=tel|teruc'''in-di'''|She opened}}

|{{interlinear|lang=tel|terucā-'''ru'''|They opened}}

!Neuter

|{{interlinear|lang=tel|teruc'''in-di'''|It opened}}

|{{interlinear|lang=tel|terucā-'''yi'''|They (non-human) opened}}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|Verbal suffixes<br>(singular/plural)

|manaṃ/manamu (మనం/మనము)

''we''

|nīvu/nuvvu (నీవు/నువ్వు)

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |vāḷḷu (వళ్ళు)

In informal Telugu, personal pronouns distinguish masculine from non-masculine.<ref>{{Cite book| year=1873 |title= A progressive grammar of the Telugu language |author1=Albert Henry Arden |publisher=Society for promoting Christian knowledge |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tW8IAAAAQAAJ&q=neuter+feminine&pg=PA57 |access-date=2014-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |year=1857 |title=A grammar of the Telugu language |author=Charles Philip Brown |edition=2 |publisher=Christian Knowledge Society's Press |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pnAIAAAAQAAJ&q=feminine&pg=PA39 |access-date=2014-08-03 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013132000/https://books.google.com/books?id=pnAIAAAAQAAJ&q=feminine&pg=PA39 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The lexicon of Telugu shows a pervasive influence of Sanskrit that goes back at least 1000 years; there is also evidence suggesting an earlier influence. It's estimated that 80% of Telugu's lexicon is derived from Sanskrit.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Kumar Suresh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99c-AQAAIAAJ|title=People of India: Delhi|last2=Ghosh|first2=Tapash Kumar|last3=Nath|first3=Surendra|date=1996|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India|isbn=978-81-7304-096-2|page=36|language=en|access-date=25 May 2020|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131946/https://books.google.com/books?id=99c-AQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Sharp|first1=Bernadette|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDpS6D60o8AC|title=Human-Machine Interaction in Translation: Proceedings of the 8th International NLPCS Workshop|last2=Carl|first2=M.|last3=Zock|first3=M.|last4=Jakobsen|first4=A. L.|date=2011|publisher=Samfundslitteratur|isbn=978-87-593-1615-3|page=10|language=en}}</ref> Indologist David Shulman states that "Telugu must have swallowed Sanskrit whole, as it were, even before Nannaya."<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Shulman|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUvcDwAAQBAJ|title=Classical Telugu Poetry|date=2020-05-12|publisher=Univ of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-97665-8|page=4|language=en|access-date=25 May 2020|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131441/https://books.google.com/books?id=rUvcDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> He further notes that "every Sanskrit word is potentially a Telugu word" and that Telugu speech and literary texts are Sanskritized to an "enormous degree".<ref name=":3" /> During the period 1000–1100 CE, Nannaya's re-writing of the ''Mahābhārata'' in Telugu (మహాభారతము) established the liberal borrowing of Sanskrit words. Telugu absorbed ''[[tatsama]]s'' from Sanskrit.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Telugu academy |first=G |last=Ramadasu |title=Telugu bhasha charitra |year=1980 }}</ref>

 

The [[relexification]] of [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] languages by [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] languages is not an uncommon occurrence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Staal |first=J. F. |date=1963 |title=Sanskrit and Sanskritization |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2050186 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=261–275 |doi=10.2307/2050186 |jstor=2050186 |s2cid=162241490 |issn=0021-9118 |access-date=27 February 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131938/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2050186 |url-status=live }}</ref> Likewise is the case of [[Brahui language|Brahui]] —a Dravidian language spoken in the [[Balochistan,_Pakistan|Balochistan]] and upper [[Sindh]] regions of [[Pakistan]]— with [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] (incl. [[Perso-Arabic]]) vocabulary accounting for 40% of its lexicon.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brahui Language – Structure, Writing & Alphabet – MustGo |url=https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/brahui/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=MustGo.com |language=en-US |quote=Brahui has borrowed a large number of words from Arabic, Balochi, Persian, and Pashto. According to [Elena] Bashir, words of Dravidian origin account for only 15% of Brahui's lexicon, while 20% of Brahui's lexicon comes from Balochi. For example, Brahui maan 'bread' and Balochi naan. |archive-date=21 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221215932/https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/brahui/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Modern Telugu vocabulary can be said to constitute a [[diglossia]] because the formal, standardised version of the language is either [[Lexicon|lexically]] Sanskrit or heavily influenced by Sanskrit, as taught in schools, and used by the government and Hindu religious institutions. However, everyday Telugu varies in such features depending upon region.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

[[File:Telugu consonants.svg|thumb|right|Consonants – ''hallulu'' (హల్లులు)]]

Telugu has full-zero (''"[[anusvāra]]"'' or ''"sunna"'' ) ( ం ), half-zero (''"arthanusvāra"'' or "''[[Chandrabindu|candrabindu]]''" or ''"ara-sunna"'' ) (ఁ) and ''[[visarga]]'' ( ః ) to convey various shades of nasal sounds. [la] and [La], [ra] and [Ra] are differentiated.<ref name="cpbrown" />

Telugu has ''ĉ'' [t͡s] and ''ĵ'' [d͡z], which are not represented in Sanskrit.

[[File:ఎన్నికల ప్రచార సామగ్రి దుకాణము.jpg|thumb|Wall painting at a shop in India. It first shows the painted party symbols of all the major political parties in the region during the nationwide elections in India in 2014. It also has a Telugu inscription showing availability of political flags, banners, caps, badges and other election material.]]

=== Telugu Guṇintālu (తెలుగు గుణింతాలు) ===

Prabandha Ratnavali (1918) & Pre-Nannayya Chandassu (Raja Raja Narendra Pattabhisekha Sanchika) by Veturi Prabhakara Sastry talk about the existence of Jain Telugu literature during 850-1000 CE. A verse from Telugu Jinendra Puranam by [[Adikavi Pampa]], a couple of verses from Telugu Adi Puranam by Sarvadeva and [[Kavijanasrayam]] by [[Malliya Rechana]] were all authored by Jain poet's and are the examples for Jain contribution to Telugu Literature.

[[Malliya Rechana]] is considered to be the first Telugu Author. P.V. Parabrahma Sastry, Nidadavolu Venkata Rao, P.V.P Sastry also pointed out that many Jain works could have been destroyed. Historical rivalry among Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism is well known.

[[Nannaya]] Bhattarakudu's (Telugu: నన్నయ భట్టారకుడు) Andhra Mahabharatam, who lived around the 11th century, is commonly referred to as the first Telugu literary composition (aadi kaavyam).{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Although there is evidence of Telugu literature before Nannaya, he is given the epithet Aadi Kavi ("the first poet"). Nannaya Bhattu acknowledged the help extended to him by his friend Narayana Bhattu in his composition in fields like making choices of grammatical forms, metres, form of the book, etc. and compares it to that extended to Arjuna by God Sri Krishna in the Bharata war. Scholar and poet K. Ayyappa Paniker states that both Nannaya Bhattu and Narayana Bhattu were [[Kannada]] origin scholars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paniker |first=K. Ayyappa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC |title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=1997 |isbn=978-81-260-0365-5 |pages=538 |language=en}}</ref> Nannaya was the first to establish a formal grammar of written Telugu. This grammar followed the patterns which existed in grammatical treatises like Aṣṭādhyāyī and Vālmīkivyākaranam but unlike Pāṇini, Nannayya divided his work into five chapters, covering samjnā, sandhi, ajanta, halanta and kriya.[14] Nannaya completed the first two chapters and a part of the third chapter of the Mahabharata epic, which is rendered in the Champu style.

[[Yerrapragada]]: (Telugu: ఎర్రాప్రగడ) who lived in the 14th century, finished the epic by completing the third chapter. He mimics Nannaya's style in the beginning, slowly changes tempo and finishes the chapter in the writing style of Tikkana. These three writers – Nannaya, Tikanna and Yerrapragada – are known as the Kavitraya ("three great poets") of Telugu. Other such translations like Marana's Markandeya Puranam, [[Ketana]]'s ''Dasakumara Charita'', Yerrapragada's Harivamsam followed. Many scientific works, like Ganitasarasangrahamu by Pavuluri Mallana and Prakirnaganitamu by Eluganti Peddana, were written in the 12th century.{{relevant?|date=October 2022}}

Sumati Shatakam, which is a neeti ("moral"), is one of the most famous Telugu Shatakams.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Shatakam is composed of more than a 100 padyalu (poems). According to many literary critics{{who?|date=July 2022}} Sumati Shatakam was composed by Baddena Bhupaludu (Telugu: బద్దెన భూపాల) (CE 1220–1280). He was also known as Bhadra Bhupala. He was a Chola prince and a vassal under the Kakatiya empress Rani Rudrama Devi, and a pupil of Tikkana.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} If we assume that the Sumati Shatakam was indeed written by Baddena, it would rank as one of the earliest Shatakams in Telugu along with the Vrushadhipa Satakam of Palkuriki Somanatha and the Sarveswara Satakam of Yathavakkula Annamayya.{{original research inline|date=April 2020}} The Sumatee Shatakam is also one of the earliest Telugu works to be translated into a European language, as C. P. Brown rendered it in English in the 1840s.

[[Kandukuri Veeresalingam]] (1848–1919) is generally considered the father of modern Telugu literature.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Landmarks in Telugu Literature |last= Sarma |first= Challa Radhakrishna |year= 1975 |publisher= Lakshminarayana Granthamala |page= 30 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rY4OAAAAYAAJ&q=Landmarks+in+Telugu+Literature |access-date= 1 March 2015 |archive-date= 13 October 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131935/https://books.google.com/books?id=rY4OAAAAYAAJ&q=Landmarks+in+Telugu+Literature |url-status= live }}</ref> 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 [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]] of Telugu literature because of his pioneering works in Telugu Romantic poetry.

Telugu input, display, and support were initially provided on the [[Microsoft Windows]] platform. Subsequently, various browsers, computer applications, operating systems, and user interfaces were localized in Telugu Language for Windows and [[Linux]] platforms by vendors and [[free and open-source software]] volunteers. Telugu-capable smart phones were also introduced by vendors in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/samsung-phones-to-support-9-indian-languages/article5018907.ece|title=Samsung phones to support 9 Indian languages|work=Business Line|date=August 13, 2013|access-date=December 13, 2013|archive-date=December 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226050122/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/samsung-phones-to-support-9-indian-languages/article5018907.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 15 February 2018, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] devices were experiencing crashes of apps and device shutdowns when two particular characters from the Telugu language (specifically జ్ఞా) was rendered on the display. Reports show that this has affected iOS, MacOS, tvOS and watchOS.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/16/iphone-bug-telugu-unicode-ios-mac-text-bomb/|title=People are trolling iPhone users with the 'killer symbol' that crashes their apps|work=techcrunch|date=February 17, 2018|access-date=February 18, 2018|archive-date=February 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218065049/https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/16/iphone-bug-telugu-unicode-ios-mac-text-bomb/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 February, Apple announced that the bug was fixed with the iOS 11.2.6 update.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/technology/apple-releases-fix-for-telugu-bug-that-crashes-iphones-1.2176310|title=Apple releases fix for Telugu bug that crashes iPhones|date=February 20, 2018|access-date=April 25, 2018|archive-date=April 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426105040/https://m.gulfnews.com/guides/tech/apple-releases-fix-for-telugu-bug-that-crashes-iphones-1.2176310|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

* [[Telugu grammar]]

* [[Telugu Language Day]]

* [[Telugu years]]

* [[List of languages by number of native speakers in India]]

{{Refbegin|40em}}

* The Linguistic Legacy of Indo-Guyanese [https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/04/21/features/in-the-diaspora/linguistic-legacy-indian-guyanese/ The Linguistic Legacy of Indian-Guyanese] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131942/https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/04/21/features/in-the-diaspora/linguistic-legacy-indian-guyanese/ |date=13 October 2022 }}

* Languages of Mauritius [https://mauritiusattractions.com/mauritius-languages-i-85.html Languages of Mauritius – Mauritius Attractions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324091230/https://mauritiusattractions.com/mauritius-languages-i-85.html |date=24 March 2017 }}

* Gwynn, J. P. L. (John Peter Lucius). ''A Telugu–English Dictionary'' Delhi; New York: Oxford University Press (1991; [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/gwynn/ online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226064427/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/gwynn/ |date=26 February 2021 }}).

* {{citation |last1=Rao |first1=Velcheru Narayana |last2=Shulman |first2=David |title=Classical Telugu Poetry: An Anthology |publisher=University of California Press |year=2002 |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=kt096nc4c5;brand=ucpress |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-date=5 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905153330/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=kt096nc4c5;brand=ucpress |url-status=live }}

{{Sister project links |auto=1|b=Telugu |commons=Telugu|voy=Telugu phrasebook |wikt=Telugu|q=y|iw=te }}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130702100822/http://www.learningtelugu.org/ Hints and resources for learning Telugu]

* [https://en2te.sourceforge.net/tel-dictionary/ English to Telugu online dictionary]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050603081433/http://www.engr.mun.ca/~adluri/telugu/language/script/script1a.html Origins of Telugu Script]

* [https://andhrabharati.com/dictionary/ Online English – Telugu dictionary portal that includes many popular dictionaries]

* [https://www.english-telugu.net/ English–Telugu Dictionary]

 

 

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