Telugu language

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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.{{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=978-0-19-022692-3 |page=167}} Tenugu is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *ten ("south"){{cite book |title=Telugu Basha Charitra |publisher=Osmania University |year=1979 |location=Hyderabad |pages=6, 7}} 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.{{cite book |title=The Dravidian Languages – Bhadriraju Krishnamurti}}{{sfn|Rao|Shulman|2002|loc=Introduction}}

The popular belief holds that Telugu is derived from Trilinga of Trilinga Kshetras being the land bounded by the three Lingas which is Telugu homeland. P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it the Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar).{{cite book |last1=Chenchiah |first1=P. |year=1988 |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 |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}} However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar was titled Atharvana Karikavali.{{Refn|{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Atharvana |title=Sri Venkateswara University Oriental Journal |date=1974 |publisher=Oriental Research Institute, Sri Venkateswara University|volume=17 |page=55 |language=en}}{{cite book |last=Purushottam |first=Boddupalli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_lZkAAAAMAAJ&q=Atharvana+Telugu+Grammar |title=The Theories of Telugu Grammar |date=1996 |publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics |isbn=978-81-85692-17-3 |page=4 |language=en}}{{cite book |last=Aksharajna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh43AQAAMAAJ&q=Atharvana+Telugu+Grammar |title=Some Mile-stones in Telugu Literature |date=1915 |publisher=Read & Company |page=41 |language=en}}{{cite book |last=Sherwani |first=Haroon Khan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9T5uAAAAMAAJ&q=Atharvana+Telugu+Grammar |title=History of Medieval Deccan, 1295-1724: Mainly cultural aspects |date=1974 |publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh |page=167 |language=en |author-link=Haroon Khan Sherwani}}}} Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga. Scholar C. P. Brown made a comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation.{{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}}

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.{{Linguistic Survey of India|4|year=1967|orig-date=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}}{{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}} 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".{{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=9 October 2022 |author-link=Robert Caldwell |url-status=live}}

Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, a proto-language. Linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the fourth millennium BCE.{{cite journal |last1=Kolipakam |first1=Vishnupriya |last2=Jordan |first2=Fiona M. |last3=Dunn |first3=Michael |last4=Greenhill |first4=Simon J. |last5=Bouckaert |first5=Remco |last6=Gray |first6=Russell D. |last7=Verkerk |first7=Annemarie |date=21 March 2018 |title=A Bayesian phylogenetic study of the Dravidian language family |journal=Royal Society Open Science |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3 |page=171504 |doi=10.1098/rsos.171504 |issn=2054-5703 |pmc=5882685 |pmid=29657761|bibcode=2018RSOS....571504K}}{{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}} Comparative linguistics confirms that Telugu belongs to the South Dravidian-II (also called South-Central Dravidian) sub-group, which also includes the non-literary languages like Gondi, Kuvi, Koya, Pengo, Konda and Manda.{{Cite web |page=19 |title=Dravidian languages by Bhadriraju Krishnamurti |url=https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/4415432/mod_folder/content/0/Cambridge%20Language%20Surveys/Krishnamurti%202003.%20The%20Dravidian%20Languages.pdf?forcedownload=1}}

Proto-Telugu is the reconstructed linguistic ancestor of all the dialects and registers of Telugu.{{Cite web |title=Dravidian etymology: Query result |url=https://starlingdb.org/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=config&morpho=0&basename=%5Cdata%5Cdrav%5Cdravet&first=1 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=starlingdb.org}} Russian linguist Mikhail S. Andronov, places the split of Telugu at {{Circa}}1000 BCE.{{Refn|}}

The linguistic history of Telugu is periodised as follows:{{Cite book |page=4 |date=18 January 1969 |title=Historical Grammar of Telugu |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.153565}}

• Pre-historic Telugu ({{Circa}} 600 BCE–200 BCE)
• Old Telugu (200 BCE–1000 CE)
• Middle Telugu (1000 CE–1600 CE)
• Modern Telugu (1600 CE–present)

Pre-historic Telugu is identified with the period around 600 BCE or even earlier.{{Cite journal |last=Mari |first=Will |date=3 July 2021 |title=Editor & Publisher, 1901–2015, Internet Archive |journal=American Journalism |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=381–383 |doi=10.1080/08821127.2021.1949564 |issn=0882-1127 |s2cid=237538061}}{{Cite book |pages=v, 4 |title=Historical Grammar of Telugu |author=Korada Mahadeva Sastri |date=1969 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.153565/page/n8/mode/1up?view=theater}} Pre-historic Telugu is considered one of the most conservative languages of the Dravidian family based on its linguistic features.{{Cite journal |last1=Sjoberg |first1=Andree F. |last2=Krishnamurti |first2=Bhadriraju |date=December 1966 |title=Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study |journal=Language |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=838–846 |doi=10.2307/411840 |jstor=411840 |issn=0097-8507}}{{Cite book |title=Linguistic Survey of India (1906) |date=1906 |page=273 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.62469/page/n273/mode/1up?view=theater&q=older |quote=Dravidian languages such as Telugu have preserved older forms and represent a more ancient state of development.}}

• Plural Markers: One notable feature is the presence of contrast in plural markers, such as -r, -ḷ and -nkkVḷ (a combination of -nkk and -Vḷ), which was lost in the earliest forms of many other Dravidian languages.{{Cite book |last1=Andronov |first1=Mikhail Sergeevich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhB60gYvnLgC&pg=PA23 |title=Compartive Grammar of Dravidian Languages by Mikhail Andronov |date=18 January 2024 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-04455-4 |page=112}} Examples include pū-ḷ (flowers), ā-ḷ (cows), distinct from kolan-kuḷ (tanks), and ī-gaḷ (houseflies). By the time of early writings, -kVḷ marker underwent back-stem formation with the root words, losing its status as a distinct plural marker, eg. mrā̃-kulu (< *maran-kVḷ), later getting analyzed as mrā̃ku-lu, creating a root mrā̃ku (> Modern māku). Other examples include goḍugu, ciluka, eluka, īga.
• Nominative Markers: The nominative markers were -nḏu (masc.sg.p1) and -aṁbu (inanimate.sg), which continued to appear in early inscriptions.{{Cite web |title=Nominative suffixes in Old Telugu, Iravatham Mahadevan |url=https://www.harappa.com/arrow/3.html |quote=The Old Telugu nominatives are the possible retentions of the ancient pictorial values of the symbols on Indus Valley tablets.}}
• Personal Pronouns: Reconstructed personal pronouns include ñān (I) with the oblique form ñā, and ñām or ēm (we).{{Cite web |title=Krishnamurti: The Dravidian Languages |url=https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/4415432/mod_folder/content/0/Cambridge%2520Language%2520Surveys/Krishnamurti%25202003.%2520The%2520Dravidian%2520Languages.pdf?forcedownload=1 |access-date=30 December 2023}}
• Phonemic Retention: The early language displayed high phonemic retention, with characteristic phonemes like the voiced retroflex approximant (ḻ or /ɻ/) and the voiced alveolar plosive (ḏ or /d/), which evolved into the alveolar trill (ṟ or /r/) in different positions. Both /d/ and /r/ are evidenced as distinct phonemes in early epigraphic records.{{Cite web |date=18 January 1971 |title=ప్రాచీనాంధ్రశాసనాలు (క్రీ.శ. 1100వరకు) (పాఠ, పదకోశ, సంగ్రహభాషా చరిత్రలతో): బూదరాజు రాధాకృష్ |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.493129 |access-date=30 December 2023}}{{Cite web |date=18 January 2012 |title=Proposal to encode 0C5A TELUGU LETTER RRRA |url=https://unicode.org/L2/L2012/12016-telugu-rrra-proposal.pdf |access-date=6 April 2024 |publisher=unicode.org}}
• Tenses: Tenses were structured as "past vs non-past," and gender was categorized as "masculine vs non-masculine."{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/dravidian-languages/CB6877BB2AFC237DA0B154E62F8DD898&ved=2ahUKEwi57o6r6eSDAxX3cGwGHXNlAJMQFnoECA4QBQ&usg=AOvVaw3nl5sxu0iZyE2nHwS5mszk|title=Dravidian Languages, Krishnamurti|accessdate=23 February 2025}}
• Demonstratives: Three demonstratives were in use: ā (distant 'that'), ī (proximate 'this'), and ū (intermediate 'yonder'; in Classical Telugu, ulla).{{Cite web |title=The Dravidian Languages by Bhadriraju Krishnamurthi |url=https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/4415432/mod_folder/content/0/Cambridge%2520Language%2520Surveys/Krishnamurti%25202003.%2520The%2520Dravidian%2520Languages.pdf?forcedownload=1 |page=256}}
• Non-Palatalized Initials: Non-palatalized initials are identified in words like kēsiri ("they did"), found in inscriptions up until the 8th century CE.{{Cite book |last1=Andronov |first1=Mikhail Sergeevich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhB60gYvnLgC&pg=PA23 |title=A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages |date=18 January 2024 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-04455-4 |page=60}}
• Word Endings: Words typically ended in vowels, though some had consonant endings with sonorants like -y, -r, -m, -n, -l, -ḷ, -ḻ, and -w. Classical Telugu developed an epenthetic -u that vowelized the final consonant, a feature that has been partly retained in Modern Telugu.
• Place Name Suffixes: Archaic place name suffixes include -puḻōl, -ūr, -paḷḷiya, -pāḷiyam, -paṟṟu, -konḏa, -pūṇḍi, -paṭṭaṇa(ṁbu), pāḻu, paṟiti, and pāka(m).
• Apical Displacement: Apical displacement was underway for certain words.{{Cite book |last=Krishnamurti |first=Bhadriraju |title=Comparative Dravidian Linguistics |chapter=Areal and Lexical Diffusion of Sound Change: Evidence from Dravidian |date=2001 |pages=160–182 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198241225.003.0010 |isbn=978-0-19-824122-5 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/book/48110/chapter-abstract/421300203?redirectedFrom=fulltext}}
• Conjunctive Marker: The conjunctive marker -um had various structural applications.{{Cite web |date=18 January 1971 |title=Early Telugu Inscriptions (Up to 1100 AD), Dr. Budaraju Radha Krishna. |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.493129/page/n1/mode/1up |quote=Pg: ci; "Of these, '-umu' is the earliest form".}}

One of the earliest Telugu words, nágabu, found at the Amaravati Stupa, is dated to around 200 BCE.{{Cite book |page=109 |url=https://archive.org/details/bharathi19280601/page/n109/mode/2up |title=ప్రాచీనాంధ్ర శాసనాలు, వేటూరి ప్రభాకర శాస్త్రి |date=1928-06-01 |language=Telugu}} This word was further analyzed by Iravatham Mahadevan in his attempts to decipher the Indus script.{{Cite web |page=4 |title=Harappan Heritage of Andhra |url=https://rmrl.in/wp-content/plugins/book_lists/admin/pdf_books/38%20-%20Harappan%20Heritage%20of%20Andhra_%20A%20New%20Interpretation%20(2010).pdf}} Several Telugu words, primarily personal and place names, were identified at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Krishna river basin, Ballari, Eluru, Ongole and Nellore between 200 BCE and 500 CE.{{Cite book |chapter=Chapter III |pages=22–30 |title=Telugu words in Prakrit and Sanskrit inscriptions |author=K. Mahadeva Sastri |date=1969 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.153565/page/n38/mode/1up?view=theater}}

The Ghantasala Brahmin inscription{{cite web |editor-last=Chhabra |editor-first=B. CH. |editor2-last=Rao |editor2-first=N. Lakshminarayan |title=Epigraphia Indica Vol. XXVII 1947- 48 |url=http://indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/epigraphia-indica-vol-xxvii-1947-48 |access-date=5 April 2023 |website= |pages=1–4 |language=en}} and the pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni at Vijayapuri, Nagarjunakonda, and other locations date to the first century CE.{{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}} Additionally, the Tummalagudem inscription of the Vishnukundinas dates to the 5th century CE.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vk1mAAAAMAAJ&q=Tummalagudem |title=Epigraphia Andhrica |date=1969 |publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh |volume=2 |pages=9–14 |language=en}} Telugu place names in Prakrit inscriptions are attested from the 2nd century CE onwards.{{cite book |last=Krishnamurti |first=Bhadriraju |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&dq=first+inscription+in+Telugu+575&pg=PA23 |title=The Dravidian Languages |date=16 January 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-43533-8 |page=23 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Hock |first1=Hans Henrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ&dq=first+inscription+in+Telugu+575&pg=PA99 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide |last2=Bashir |first2=Elena |date=24 May 2016 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-042330-3 |page=99 |language=en}}

A number of Telugu words were found in the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions of the Satavahana dynasty, Vishnukundina dynasty, and Andhra Ikshvakus. 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|Sinopoli|2001|p=163}}{{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}} and Tamil languages.{{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}}File:Telugu talli bomma.JPG

{{Main|Early Telugu epigraphy}}The period from the 4th century CE to 1022 CE marks the second phase of Telugu history, following the Andhra Ikshvaku period. The first long inscription entirely in Telugu, dated to 575 CE, is attributed to the Renati Choda king Dhanunjaya and found in the Kadapa district.{{cite book |last=Frawley |first=William J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ftQEAAAQBAJ&dq=first+inscription+that+is+entirely+in+Telugu,+dated+575&pg=RA3-PA219 |title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics |date=1 May 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977178-3 |page=219 |language=en}}{{cite news |last=రెడ్డి |first=తులసీ ప్రసాద్ |date=22 February 2022 |title=కడప జిల్లాలోని కలమల్ల శాసనమే తొలి తెలుగు శాసనమా? |language=te |work=BBC News తెలుగు |url=https://www.bbc.com/telugu/india-60467482 |access-date=5 April 2023}}

An early Telugu label inscription, "tolacuwānḍru" (తొలచువాండ్రు; {{Translation|rock carvers or quarrymen}}), is found on one of the rock-cut caves around the Keesaragutta temple, 35 kilometers from Hyderabad.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gpDAAAAYAAJ&q=Telugu+label+inscription |title=Itihas |date=1989 |publisher=Director of State Archives, Government of Andhra Pradesh. |volume=15 |page=34 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Reddy |first1=Emani Siva Nagi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lddOAAAAYAAJ&q=keesaragutta+telugu+inscription |title=Evolution of Building Technology: Early and Madieval [i.e. Medieval] in Andhradeśa |last2=Śivanāgireḍḍi |first2=Īmani |date=1998 |publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan |isbn=978-81-86050-29-3 |page=315 |language=en}} This inscription is dated to the Vishnukundina period of around 400 CE{{cite web |title=Ancient Temples of Telangana |url=http://anyflip.com/voxm/rlzk/basic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011122959/http://anyflip.com/voxm/rlzk/basic |archive-date=11 October 2017 |access-date=28 July 2017 |website= |publisher=Government of Telangana |page=47}}{{cite web |date=10 January 2022 |title=విష్ణుకుండి రాజధాని కీసర |url=https://www.ntnews.com/editpage/editorial-article-news-5-398554 |access-date=6 April 2023 |website=Namasthe Telangana |language=te-IN}} and is the earliest known short Telugu inscription from the Telangana region.

Several titles of Mahendravarman I in Telugu language, dated to {{Circa|600 CE}}, were inscribed on cave-inscriptions in Tamil Nadu.{{Cite web |page=323 |title=Mahendravarman I |date=1960 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.98114/page/n5}}

From the 6th century onwards, complete Telugu inscriptions began to appear in districts neighbouring Kadapa such as Prakasam and Palnadu.{{Rp|page=10}} Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE.{{cite book |last=Rādhākr̥ṣṇa |first=Būdarāju |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFxkAAAAMAAJ&q=Metrically+composed+ |title=Occasional Papers in Language and Literature |date=1998 |publisher=Prachee Publications |isbn=978-81-7443-007-6 |page=126 |language=en}}{{cite web |last=T. |first=Vijay Kumar |title=Translation as Negotiation: The Making of Telugu Language and Literature |url=https://ntm.org.in/download/ttvol/volume10-1/Translation-as-Negotiation-The%20Making-of-Telugu%20Language-and-Literature.pdf |pages=65, 67, 68}} The Madras Museum plates of Balliya-Choda dated to the mid-ninth century CE, are the earliest copper plate grants in the Telugu language.{{cite book |author=D. C. Sircar |title=Indian Epigraphy |volume=10 |series=Epigraphy, Palaeography, Numismatics Series |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |year=1996 |page=50}}

During this period, Telugu was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit, corresponding to the advent of Telugu literature. Initially, Telugu literature appeared in inscriptions and poetry in the courts of rulers, and later in written works, such as Nannayya's Andhra Mahabharatam (1022 CE).{{cite web |title=Languages |url=http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/HIST-CULT/languages.html |work=aponline.gov.in |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208110254/http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/HIST-CULT/languages.html |archive-date=8 February 2012}}

The third phase is marked by further stylisation and sophistication of the literary languages. During this period the split of the Telugu from the Telugu-Kannada alphabet took place.{{cite book|title= The Dravidian Languages |last= Krishnamurti |first= Bhadriraju |year= 2003 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 978-0-521-77111-5 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/dravidianlanguag00kris/page/n107 78]–79 |url=https://archive.org/details/dravidianlanguag00kris|url-access= limited}}

The Vijayanagara Empire gained dominance from 1336 to the late 17th century, reaching its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya in the 16th century, when Telugu literature experienced what is considered its Golden Age. 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, and hence referred to it as "The Italian of the East";{{cite news |last=Rao |first=M. Malleswara |date=22 December 2012 |title=When foreigners fell in love with Telugu language |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/when-foreigners-fell-in-love-with-telugu-language/article4227784.ece |url-status=live |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 |archive-date=8 August 2020 |access-date=15 July 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu}} a saying that has been widely repeated.{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0AOJBShvRAC&pg=PA86 |title=A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Godavery District in the Presidency of Madras |publisher=Asian Educational Services |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-206-1973-9 |page=86 |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131427/https://books.google.com/books?id=P0AOJBShvRAC&pg=PA86 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |url-status=live}}

A distinct dialect developed in present-day Hyderabad region, due to Persian and Arabic influence. This influence began with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate rule by the Tughlaq dynasty 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 influence on the Telugu language, especially Hyderabad State. The effect is also evident in the prose of the early 19th century, as in the kaifiyats.

In the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, the influence of the English language was seen, and modern communication/printing press arose as an effect of 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 such scholars as Gidugu Venkata Ramamoorty, Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Gurajada Apparao, Gidugu Sitapati and Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao.

In the princely Hyderabad State, the Andhra Mahasabha was started in 1921 with the main goal of promoting Telugu language, literature, its books and historical research. Key figures in this movement included Madapati Hanumantha Rao (founder of the Andhra Mahasabha), Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao (founder of the Library Movement in Hyderabad State), and Suravaram Pratapa Reddy.{{cite book |last1=Sundarayya |first1=Puccalapalli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPjIh1G0TmcC&dq=%22Andhra+Mahasabha%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA12 |title=Telangana People's Struggle and Its Lessons |last2=Chattopadhyaya |first2=Harindranath |date=1972 |publisher=Foundation Books |isbn=978-81-7596-316-0 |page=12 |language=en}}

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.{{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}}

Telugu is one of the 22 languages with official status in India.{{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=29 October 2013}} The Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu the official language of the state that is currently divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.{{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 }}{{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|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}} It also has official language status in the Yanam district of the union territory of Puducherry. It is the fourth most spoken Indian language in India after Hindi, Bengali and Marathi.{{cite news |last1=Jain |first1=Bharti |date=27 June 2018 |title=Hindi mother tongue of 44% in India, Bangla second most-spoken |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/hindi-mother-tongue-of-44-in-india-bangla-second-most-spoken/articleshow/64759135.cms |access-date=27 June 2018}} It is one of the six classical languages of India.{{cite web |title=Declaration of Telugu and Kannada as classical languages |url=http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=44340 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216124306/http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=44340 |archive-date=16 December 2008 |access-date=31 October 2008 |work=Press Information Bureau |publisher=Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India}}{{cite news |date=1 October 2008 |title=Telugu gets classical status |newspaper=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Telugu_gets_classical_status/articleshow/3660521.cms |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104015938/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Telugu_gets_classical_status/articleshow/3660521.cms |archive-date=4 November 2008}}

Telugu Language Day is celebrated every year on 29 August, the birthday of Telugu poet Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy.{{cite news|date=26 August 2010|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=4 December 2020|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}}{{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=4 December 2020|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}} 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.{{cite web |author=B. Prabhakara Sarma |date=6 December 2012 |title=World Telugu Conference: Then and now |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/world-telugu-conference-then-and-now/article4167022.ece |access-date=3 February 2013 |work=The Hindu}}{{cite web |author=V. |first=Rishi Kumar |date= |title=Tirupathi to host World Telugu Conference |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/tirupathi-to-host-world-telugu-conference/article4130001.ece |access-date=3 February 2013 |website=Business Line |publisher=}} 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 census.{{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{{cite web |last=Bhattacharya |first=Ananya |date=24 September 2018 |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=12 August 2022 |website=Quartz |language=en}}

In the Indian subcontinent, a command over the Telugu language, alongside Sanskrit, Tamil, Meitei, Oriya, Persian, or Arabic, is highly appreciated and respected for learning dances (most significantly Indian Classical Dances) as dancers could have the tools of these languages to go into the primary material texts.{{cite book |last1=Munsi |first1=Urmimala Sarkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bKepAgAAQBAJ&dq=classical+language+meitei&pg=PT35 |title=Traversing Tradition: Celebrating Dance in India |last2=Burridge |first2=Stephanie |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-70378-2 |location=en |page=35 |language=en |quote=... This means a command of Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Meitei, Persian, or Arabic. ...}}

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

File:Telugu speakers in India.png

Telugu is natively spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry. Telugu speakers are also found in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, some parts of Jharkhand, and the 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. {{As of|2018}} 7.2% of the population, Telugu is the fourth-most-spoken native language in India after Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi. In Karnataka, 7.0% of the population speak Telugu, and 5.6% in Tamil Nadu.{{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 |access-date=22 March 2022 |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}}

There are more than 400,000 Telugu Americans in the United States.{{cite news |date=March 2023 |title=Telugu population figure worldwide |newspaper=Ethnologue |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tel}}{{cite web |date=19 September 2018 |title=Almost Half Speak a Foreign Language in America's Largest Cities |url=https://cis.org/Report/Almost-Half-Speak-Foreign-Language-Americas-Largest-Cities |last1=Zeigler |first1=Karen |last2=Camarota |first2=Steven A. }} {{As of|2018}}, Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States, (especially in New Jersey and New York City), with the number of Telugu speakers in the United States increasing by 86% between 2010 and 2017.{{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}} {{As of|2021}}, it is the 18th most spoken native language in the United States and the third most spoken South Asian language after Hindi and Urdu.{{cite web |title=ACS B16001 |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=B16001:+LANGUAGE+SPOKEN+AT+HOME+BY+ABILITY+TO+SPEAK+ENGLISH+FOR+THE+POPULATION+5+YEARS+AND+OVER&g=0100000US&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B16001&moe=true |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=ACS B16001 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}} 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.{{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=10 October 2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-13-9224-5 |language=en |access-date=14 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013130925/https://books.google.com/books?id=jm21DwAAQBAJ&dq=telugu+people+gulf&pg=PA281 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |url-status=live}}

Telugu is the official language of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is one of the 22 languages under schedule 8 of the constitution of India. It is one of the official languages of the union territories of 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.{{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=6 January 2021|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}} The Government of South Africa announced that Telugu will be re-included as an official subject in the South African schools after it was removed from the curriculum in state schools.{{cite web |date=21 March 2014 |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 |url-status=live |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 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |access-date=12 August 2022 |website=The Hans India |language=en}}

In addition, with the creation in October 2004 of a legal status for classical languages by the Government of India on 8 August 2008, Telugu was also given classical language status due to several campaigns.{{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=6 January 2021|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}}{{cite web |date=14 January 2020 |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/ |url-status=live |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/ |archive-date=7 January 2021 |access-date=6 January 2021 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}

{{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. Telugu inscriptions are found in all the districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.{{Refn|{{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}}{{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=978-0-520-24500-6 |date=23 May 2006 |publisher=University of California Press |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}}{{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=978-0-19-513661-6 |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |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}}}} They are also found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.{{Refn|{{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=978-0-253-35301-6 |year=2009 |publisher=Indiana University Press |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}}{{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=978-81-7625-186-0 |year=2001 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |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}}{{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=978-0-19-535666-3 |date=10 December 1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |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}}}} According to recent estimates by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) the number of inscriptions in the Telugu language goes up to 14,000.{{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=978-0-19-803123-9 |last1=Talbot |first1=Cynthia |date=20 September 2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |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}} Adilabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Mahbubnagar, Anantapur, Chittoor and Srikakulam produced only a handful of Telugu inscriptions in the Kakatiya era between 1135 CE and 1324 CE.{{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=978-0-19-803123-9 |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}}{{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}}

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 Tirupati district.{{Cite book |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C&pg=PA36 |title=Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra |date=2001-09-20 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803123-9 |page=36 |language=en}} However, Andhra extended westwards as far as Srisailam in Nandyal district, about halfway across the modern state.{{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}} According to other sources in the early sixteenth century, the northern boundary is Simhachalam and the southern limit is Tirumala of the Telugu ation.{{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}}{{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}}{{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}}{{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}}{{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}}{{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–}}

{{Main|Place names in India}}

Telugu place names are present all around Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Common suffixes are -ooru, -pudi, -padu, -peta, -pattanam, -wada, -gallu, -cherla, -seema, -gudem, -palle, -palem, -konda, -veedu, -valasa, -pakam, -paka, -prolu, -wolu, -waka, -ili, -kunta, -parru, -villi, -gadda, -kallu, -eru, -varam,-puram,-pedu and -palli. Examples that use this nomenclature are Nellore, Tadepalligudem, Guntur, Chintalapudi, Yerpedu, Narasaraopeta, Sattenapalle, Visakapatnam, Vizianagaram, Ananthagiri, Vijayawada, Vuyyuru, Macherla, Poranki, Ramagundam, Warangal, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Siddipet, Pithapuram, Banswada, and Miryalaguda.

File:Andhra Pradesh districts map.svg (1956–2014)]]

{{Main|Telangana dialect}}

There are four regional dialects in Telugu:{{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}}

• Western : Telangana
• Southern: Rayalaseema
• Central: Coastal Andhra
• Northern : North Andhra

Colloquially, Telangana, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra dialects are considered the three Telugu dialects and regions.{{cite book|last1=Caffarel|first1=Alice|last2=Martin|first2=J. R.|author-link2=J.R. Martin|last3=Matthiessen|first3=Christian M. I. M.|author-link3=C.M.I.M. Matthiessen|title=Language Typology: A Functional Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJGjDlLPQ_IC&pg=PA434|access-date=19 November 2016|year=2004|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-1-58811-559-1|page=434|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131948/https://books.google.com/books?id=vJGjDlLPQ_IC&pg=PA434|url-status=live}}

Waddar, Chenchu, and Manna-Dora are all closely related to Telugu.{{glotto|telu1265|Teluguic}} Other dialects of Telugu are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Vadaga, Srikakula, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Rayalaseema, Nellore, Guntur, Vadari Bangalore, and Yanadi.{{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}}

File:WIKITONGUES- Naren speaking Telugu.webm speaking Telugu.]]

File:WIKITONGUES- Manjusha speaking Telugu.webm speaking Telugu.]]

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

Telugu words generally end in vowels. In Old Telugu, this was absolute; in the modern language m, n, y, w may end a word. Sanskrit loans have introduced aspirated and murmured consonants as well.

Telugu does not have contrastive stress, and speakers vary on where they perceive stress. Most place it on the penultimate or final syllable, depending on word and vowel length.Lisker and Krishnamurti (1991), "Lexical stress in a 'stressless' language: judgments by Telugu- and English-speaking linguists." Proceedings of the XII International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (Université de Provence), 2:90–93.

The table below lists the consonant phonemes of Telugu,Krishnamurti (1998), "Telugu". In Steever (ed.), The Dravidian Languages. Routledge. pp. 202–240, 260{{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}} along with the symbols used in the transliteration of the Telugu script used here (where different from IPA).

• 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/{{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}} 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.
• Perso-Arabic phonemes like /q, x, ɣ, z/ are substituted with /k, kʰ, ɡ, d͡ʒ/ similar to Hindi.
• /t͡s, d͡z/ occur only in native words and lack aspirated/breathy forms. Native words with /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/ before non front vowels became /t͡s, d͡z/; this change became phonemised after loaning words with /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/ from other languages. Intervocalically /d͡z/ can become [z] e.g. [rɐːzu, d͡zoːli, ɡudd͡zu].
• /ʋ/ can be rounded to a [β̞ʷ] around rounded vowels.
• The common Proto Dravidian approximant */ɻ/ merged with /ɖ/ in Telugu while it was preserved as /ɽ/ in the other Southern II branch languages.
• Many of the old /ɳ/ and /ɭ/ merged with /n/ and /l/.

Most consonants contrast in length in word-medial position, meaning that there are long (geminated) and short phonetic renderings of the sounds. A few examples of words that contrast by length of word-medial consonants:

• /ɡɐdi/ gadi (room) – /ɡɐdːi/ gaddi (grass)
• /ɐʈu/ aṭu (that side) – /ɐʈːu/ aṭṭu (pancake)
• /moɡɐ/ moga (male) – /moɡːɐ/ mogga (bud)
• /nɐmɐkɐmu/ namakamu (a vedic hymn) – /nɐmːɐkɐmu/ nammakamu (belief)
• /kɐnu/ kanu (to give birth to) – /kɐnːu/ kannu (eye)
• /kɐlɐ/ kala (dream) – /kɐlːɐ/ kalla (falsehood)
• /mɐɾi/ mari (again) – /mɐɾːi/ marri (banyan tree)

All retroflex consonants occur in intervocalic position and when adjacent to a retroflex consonant, for instance. /ʋɐːɳiː/ vāṇī 'tippet', /kɐʈɳɐm/ kaṭṇam 'dowry', /pɐɳɖu/ paṇḍu 'fruit'; /kɐɭɐ/ kaḷa 'art'. With the exception of /ɳ/ and /ɭ/, all occur word-initial in a few words, such as /ʈɐkːu/ ṭakku 'pretence', /ʈ^hiːʋi/ ṭhīvi 'grandeur', /ɖipːɐ/ ḍippā 'half of a spherical object', and /ʂoːku/ ṣōku 'fashionable appearance'.

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

Vowels in Telugu contrast in length; there are short and long versions of all vowels except for /æ/, which only occurs as long. Long vowels can occur in any position within the word, but native Telugu words do not end in a long vowel. Short vowels occur in all positions of a word, with the exception of /o/, which does not occur word-finally. The vowels of Telugu are illustrated below, along with the Telugu script and romanisation.

• An emphatic u maybe added to loans ending with a consonant, eg. school > iskūlu.

In most dialects, the vowel {{IPA|/æː/}} only occurs in loan words. In the Guntur dialect, {{IPA|[æː]}} is a frequent allophone of {{IPA|/aː/}} in certain verbs in the past tense.

Telugu has two diphthongs: {{IPA|/ai/}} ({{Lang|te|ఐ}}) and {{IPA|/au/}} ({{Lang|te|ఔ}}).

Roots alter according to whether the first vowel is tense or lax.{{Harvcoltxt|Wilkinson|1974|p=251}}{{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 centralised (e.g., {{IPA|[mɛːka]}} 'goat', as opposed to {{IPA|[meːku]}} 'nail').{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} Telugu words also have vowels in inflectional suffixes that are harmonised with the vowels of the preceding syllable.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}}

• In some colloquial speech ṇ, ḷ might completely merge with n, l except in clusters with retroflex plosives.

• In Standard Telugu and most dialects ś is pronounced as s, while Telanganan dialects merge ś to ṣ. eg. iṣṭam, dēśam > istaw̃, dēsaw̃/dēṣaw̃.

• Non initial and particularly final m tends to be [w̃].

• Initial kṣ tend to be kś before front vowels and kṣ/ṭṣ before other in educated speech, ch for uneducated speech; medially tts(h) for all.

• Cluster simplification, eg. viplavam, amlam, raktam, anyāyam > yipalavaw̃, āw̃alaw̃, rattaw̃, annēyaw̃.

• va, vā becomes (w)o, {ā, ō} initially, eg. vāḍu > āḍu/ōḍu. Before front vowels the v becomes y, eg. vennela > yennela.

• Some aspirates might be debuccalized to a h while previous actual h's might be deleted, eg. mukham, mahā > muhaw̃/mugaw̃, mā.

• Telanganan speech tend to have less aspirated consonants.

• Palatalization, eg. madhyāhnam > majjhānaw̃/majjhēnaw̃.

• ph, ts, dz > f, s, j.

• Differences in suffixing, eg. kannu-lu > Coastal kaḷḷu, Rayalseema kaṇḍḷu/kaṇḷu, Telangana kanlu.

• Sri Lankan Telugu too lacks ṇ, ḷ, merges c with s and has vowel alternations like i instead of final -u, perhaps due to Tamil and Sinhalese influence.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/41175429|title=Sri Lanka Gypsy Telugu: A Dravidian Dialect from Sri Lanka's Sinhalese Heartland|first=Steven C.|last=Bonta|accessdate=23 February 2025|via=www.academia.edu}}

{{Main|Telugu grammar}}

The traditional study of Telugu Grammar is known as vyākaraṇam (వ్యాకరణం). The first treatise on Telugu grammar, the Āndhra Śabda Cintāmaṇi, 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 Vālmīkivyākaranam, but unlike Pāṇini, Nannayya divided his work into five chapters, covering samjnā, sandhi, ajanta, halanta and kriya.

In the 19th century, Chinnaya Suri wrote a condensed work on Telugu grammar called Bāla Vyākaraṇam, borrowing concepts and ideas from Nannayya's grammar.

Relations between participants in an event are coded in Telugu words through suffixation; there are no prefixes or infixes in the language. There are six word classes in Telugu: nominals (proper nouns, pronouns), verbs (actions or events), modifiers (adjectives, quantifiers, numerals), adverbs (modify the way in which actions or events unfold), and clitics.

Telugu nouns are inflected for number (singular, plural), noun class (three classes traditionally termed masculine, feminine, and neuter) and case (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, vocative, instrumental, and locative).{{cite book| year=1857 |title= A grammar of the Telugu language |author1=Charles Philip Brown |edition=2 |publisher=Christian Knowledge Society's Press}}

The basic word order in Telugu is subject-object-verb (SOV).{{cite book |last1=Elçi |first1=Atilla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRjBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA148 |title=Smart Computing Paradigms: New Progresses and Challenges: Proceedings of ICACNI 2018 |volume=1 |last2=Sa |first2=Pankaj Kumar |last3=Modi |first3=Chirag N. |last4=Olague |first4=Gustavo |last5=Sahoo |first5=Manmath N. |last6=Bakshi |first6=Sambit |date=30 November 2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-13-9683-0 |page=148 |language=en}}

As with other Dravidian languages, gender in Telugu follows a semantic system,{{cite book|title=Gender|last=Corbett, Greville G.|date=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-32939-6|location=Cambridge [England]|pages=151–154|oclc=21227561}} in the sense that it is mostly the meaning of the word which defines the noun class to which it belongs. There are three noun classes: masculine (human males, he-gender), feminine (human females, she-gender), and neuter (all non-humans, it-gender). The gender of most nouns is encoded through agreement/indexation in pronominal suffixes rather than overtly on the noun.

{{interlinear

| lang = tel

| indent = 3|anna vaccāḍu|older.brother come-past-MASC|The older brother came

}}

{{interlinear

| lang = tel

| indent = 3|amma vacc-indi|mother come-past-FEM|Mother came

}}

In terms of the verbal agreement system, genders in marking on the Telugu verb only occur in the third person.

The Telugu gender system differs from other Dravidian languages such as Tamil in that the Telugu feminine shares indexation morphemes with the masculine plural (-ru) and with the neuter singular (-di). What characterises the three-gender system is then the individual behaviour of the singular-plural pairs of suffixes.

Telugu pronouns include personal pronouns (the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about); indefinite pronouns; relative pronouns (connecting parts of sentences); and reciprocal or reflexive pronouns (in which the object of a verb is acted on by the verb's subject).

In informal Telugu, personal pronouns distinguish masculine from non-masculine.{{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=3 August 2014}}{{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=3 August 2014 |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}}

There is a wide variety of demonstrative pronouns in Telugu, whose forms depend on both proximity to the speaker and the level of formality. The formal demonstratives may also be used as formal personal pronoun, that is, the polite forms for this woman or this man and that woman or that man can also simply mean she and he in more formal contexts.

In the singular, there are four levels of formality when speaking about males and females, although the most formal/polite form is the same for both human genders. In both singular and plural, Telugu distinguishes two levels of distance from speaker (like in English), basically this and that, and these and those.

In the plural, there are no distinctions between formality levels, but once again masculine and feminine forms are the same, while the neuter demonstratives are different.

The nominative case (karta), the object of a verb (karma), and the verb are somewhat in a sequence in Telugu sentence construction. "Vibhakti" (case of a noun) and "pratyāyamulu" (an affix to roots and words forming derivatives and inflections) depict the ancient nature and progression of the language. The "Vibhaktis" of Telugu language " డు [ɖu], ము [mu], వు [vu], లు [lu]", etc., are different from those in Sanskrit and have been in use for a long time.

Majority of the lexicon in Telugu is inherited from Proto-Dravidian language, a reconstructed hypothetical language of third millennium BCE.{{Cite journal |last1=Sjoberg |first1=Andree F. |last2=Krishnamurti |first2=Bhadriraju |date=December 1966 |title=Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study |journal=Language |volume=42 |issue=4 |page=838 |doi=10.2307/411840 |jstor=411840 |issn=0097-8507}}{{Cite book |last=Krishnamurti |first=Bhadriraju |title=The Dravidian Languages |date=16 January 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511486876 |isbn=978-0-521-77111-5}} Telugu retained some of the most archaic words, markers and morphemes of the Dravidian origin.{{Cite book |last=Charles philip Brown |url=http://archive.org/details/ABrawnsdictionaryEnglishAndTelugu1853 |title=A Brawn'sdictionary English And Telugu ( 1853)}}{{Cite journal |last=Sjoberg |first=Andrée F. |date=1966 |title=Review of Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study |journal=Language |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=838–846 |doi=10.2307/411840 |jstor=411840 |issn=0097-8507}} It shares its cognates with its closest South-Dravidian-II languages like Gondi, Kuwi and also with other Dravidian languages such as Tamil and Kannada.

The lexicon of Classical Telugu works shows a pervasive influence of Sanskrit; there is also evidence suggesting an earlier influence even before Nannaya.{{cite book|last=Shulman|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUvcDwAAQBAJ|title=Classical Telugu Poetry|date=12 May 2020|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}} During the period 1000–1100 CE, Nannaya's re-writing of the Mahābhārata in Telugu (మహాభారతము) established the liberal borrowing of Sanskrit words.{{cite news |publisher=Telugu academy |first=G |last=Ramadasu |title=Telugu bhasha charitra |year=1980}}

Literature in Accatelugu (అచ్చతెలుగు), Mēlimitelugu (మేలిమితెలుగు), or Jānutelugu (జానుతెలుగు) by poets like Adibhatla Narayana Dasu and Ponneganti Telaganna emphasised the importance of native lexicon of Dravidian origin, in contrast to the extensive borrowings from Sanskrit and Prakrit.{{Cite book |last=పొన్నిగంటి తెలుగన్న |url=http://archive.org/details/Yayati-Charitra |title=యయాతి చరిత్ర సుగమ వ్యాఖ్య}} Spoken Telugu preserved most of its Dravidian lexicon intact in various colloquial dialects.

The vocabulary of Telugu, especially in the city of Hyderabad, has borrowings from Persian and Arabic (through Urdu and directly) languages. These words have been modified to fit Telugu phonology. This was due to Turkic rule in these regions, such as the erstwhile kingdoms of Golkonda and Hyderabad (e.g., కబురు, {{IPA|/kaburu/}} for Urdu {{IPA|/xabar/}}, {{Nastaliq|خبر}} or జవాబు, {{IPA|/dʒavaːbu/}} for Urdu {{IPA|/dʒawɑːb/}}, {{Nastaliq|جواب}}).

Many words were borrowed from English language in the modern era and a few from Portuguese during the colonial era. Modern Telugu vocabulary can be said to constitute a diglossia because the formal, standardised version of the language is either lexically Sanskrit or heavily influenced by Sanskrit, as taught in schools, and used by the government and Hindu religious institutions. However, colloquial Telugu is less influenced by Sanskrit and varies depending upon region.

Telugu has many tatsama words, called {{transl|te|ISO|prākr̥ti}}. These are direct borrowings from Sanskrit. The equivalent forms of prākr̥ti words, known as {{transl|te|ISO|vikr̥ti}} words (or tadbhava words), originate from the same Sanskrit root word, but have evolved through phonological changes in Sanskrit's descendant Prakrit languages, from which they were borrowed into Telugu. The word vikr̥ti means 'distorted' in Sanskrit. In addition to phonological changes, some vikr̥ti words have also undergone semantic shifts, altering their meanings over time. However, prākr̥ti words are generally used in formal settings such as educational institutions and offices. Below is a table of prākr̥ti words and their corresponding vikr̥ti words, with semantic shifts noted:

The given sample text is Article 1 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html |website=www.un.org |access-date=29 March 2020 |language=en |date=6 October 2015}}

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

{{lang|te|ప్రతిపత్తిస్వత్వముల విషయమున మానవులెల్లరును జన్మతః స్వతంత్రులును సమానులును నగుదురు. వారు వివేచన-అంతఃకరణ సంపన్నులగుటచే పరస్పరము భ్రాతృభావముతో వర్తింపవలయును.}}

{{Transliteration|te|Pratipattisvatvamula viṣayamuna mānavulellarunu janmataḥ svatantrulunu samānulunu naguduru. Vāru vivēcana-antaḥkaraṇa sampannulaguṭacē parasparamu bhrātr̥bhāvamutō vartimpavalayunu.}}

{{IPA|/pɾɐt̪ipɐt̪t̪isʋɐt̪ʋɐmulɐ viʂɐjɐmun̪ɐ maːn̪ɐʋulellaɾun̪u d͡ʒɐn̪mɐt̪ɐhɐ sʋɐt̪ɐn̪t̪ɾulun̪u sɐmaːn̪ulun̪u n̪ɐɡud̪uɾu ǁ ʋaːɾu ʋiʋeːt͡ʃɐn̪ɐ ɐn̪t̪ɐkkɐɾɐɳɐ sɐmpɐn̪n̪ulɐɡuʈɐt͡ʃeː pɐɾɐspɐɾɐmu bʱɾaːt̪ɾubʱaːʋɐmut̪oː ʋɐɾt̪impɐʋɐlɐjun̪u ǁ/||label=}}

{{Main|Telugu script|Telugu Braille}}

Telugu script is an abugida comprising 60 symbols – 16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants. Telugu has a complete set of letters that follow a system to express sounds. The script is derived from the Brahmi script like those of many other Indian languages.:te:దస్త్రం:Telugulipi evolution.jpg{{cite book |last=Austin |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3tAqIU0dPsC&dq=Telugu+Brahmi+script&pg=PA117 |title=One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost |date=2008 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25560-9 |page=117 |language=en |author-link=Peter Austin (linguist)}} Telugu script is written from left to right and comprises sequences of both simple and complex characters. It is syllabic in nature – the basic units of writing are syllables. Inasmuch as the number of possible syllables is very large, syllables are composed of more basic units such as vowels ("acchu" 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 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 "mātras". The shapes of vowel "mātras" are also very different from the shapes of the corresponding vowels.

Historically, a sentence used to end with either a single bar। ("pūrna virāmam") or a double bar॥ ("dīrgha virāmam"); in handwriting, Telugu words were not separated by spaces. However, in modern times, English punctuation (commas, semicolon, etc.) has virtually replaced the old method of punctuation.{{cite book|title=A Grammar of the Telugu Language|last=Brown|first=Charles Philip|publisher=W. H. Allen & Co.|year=1857|isbn=978-81-206-0041-6|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/grammaroftelugul0000brow/page/5 5]|url=https://archive.org/details/grammaroftelugul0000brow/page/5}}

Telugu has full-zero ("anusvāra" or "sunna" ) ( ం ), half-zero ("arthanusvāra" or "candrabindu" or "ara-sunna" ) (ఁ) and visarga ( ః ) to convey various shades of nasal sounds. [la] and [La], [ra] and [Ra] are differentiated.

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

File:ఎన్నికల ప్రచార సామగ్రి దుకాణము.jpg

These are some examples of combining a consonant with different vowels.
{{lang|te|క కా కి కీ కు కూ కృ కౄ కె కే కై కొ కో కౌ క్ కం కః

ఖ ఖా ఖి ఖీ ఖు ఖూ ఖృ ఖౄ ఖె ఖే ఖై ఖొ ఖో ఖౌ ఖ్ ఖం ఖః}}

Telugu has ten digits employed with the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. However, in modern usage, the Arabic numerals have replaced them.

Telugu is assigned Unicode codepoints: 0C00-0C7F (3072–3199).{{cite book|title=Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names|last=United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names|publisher=United Nations Publications|year=2007|isbn=978-92-1-161500-5|page=110|author2=United Nations Statistical Division}}

{{Telugu}}

{{Main|Telugu literature}}

Amarāvati Stupa is a ruined Buddhist stūpa at the village of Amaravathi, Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, India, probably built in phases between the third century BCE and about 250 CE. The word "nagabu" was one of the first Telugu words that was written on the Amaravati Stupa.

File:Ancient Telugu Script displayed at Telugu Museum 3.jpg

These writings were mostly written by the Vishnukudinas, Telugu Chodas, and the Chalukyas.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

This is the first writing entirely written in Telugu. It was written by Renati Choda king Dhanunjaya. in 575 CE. It was found on the premises of Chennakesava-Siddeshwara temple at Kalamalla village in Yerraguntla Mandal of the district.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

This was a writing written by Indra Varma in the 6th century. Indra Varma was a Vishnukudina king in the 6th century.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

File:1 1149A old telugu language-Vishnu Kundi indravarma sasanam 6th century 1.jpg

The 6th- or 7th-century Sanskrit text Janashrayi-Chhandovichiti (or Janāśraya-chandas) deals with the metres used in Telugu, including some metres that are not found in Sanskrit prosody. This indicates that Telugu poetry existed during or around the 6th century.{{cite book |editor1=G. Ramakrishna |editor2=N. Gayathri |editor3=Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya |title=An Encyclopaedia of South Indian Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIkeAAAAMAAJ |year=1983 |publisher=K.P. Bagchi |oclc=948611193 |pages=164–165 |isbn=978-0-8364-1188-1 }}

Vipparla Inscription of Jayasimha I and the Lakshmipuram inscription of the Mangi yuvaraja were the earliest Telugu inscriptions of Eastern chalukyas found in the 7th century AD.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

thumb

Addanki inscription also known as the Pandaranga inscription belongs to 848AD,{{Cite web |date=2023-04-01 |title=First anniversary of Bapatla district on April 4 |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/010423/first-anniversary-of-bapatla-district-on-april-4.html |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=www.deccanchronicle.com |language=en}} excavated near the Thousand Pillar Temple of Addanki. It is testimony to a flourishing Telugu literature much before the available literary texts. Locals believe that this is the first poem ever to be written in Telugu, also called the first Padya Sasanam(Poetic inscription) with (dvipada, with Yati and Prasa; style taruvoja)Staying with the Boya campaign, Pandaranga got victories in all military campaigns of his master Gunaga Vijayaditya III. The inscription spoke about the donation of land by the king to him for his successful military exploits.

Malliya Rechana composed the first Telugu poetic prosody book Kavijanasrayam (pre-Nannayya chandassu). This was a popular one and referred by many poets. There seems to be even an earlier prosody book by Rechana's guru Vaadindra Chudamani which is not available.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.491601/2015.491601.telugu-marugulu#page/n95/mode/2up|title=Telugu Marugulu|last=Chimakurthi|first=Seshagiri Rao|publisher=Telugu Gosti|year=1992|page=87}}{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/Palkuriki_233/NidudavoluVENKATARAOGariRachanaluParisilana#page/n97/mode/2up|title=Nidadavolu Venkata Rao Gari Rachanalu Parisheelana|page=80}}{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.373092/2015.373092.Sri-Andhra#page/n19/mode/2up|title=Andhra Kavi Tarangani|last=Chaganti|first=Seshayya|publisher=Hindu dharma sastra granthalayam|year=1956}}

Veturi Prabhakara Sastry in 1900s mentioned the existence of Pre-Nannayya Chandassu in Raja Raja Narendra Pattabhisheka Sanchika. Accurate dating of this piece of literature happened after the 1980s discoveries in Karimnagar.{{cite book|last=Prabhakara Sastry|first=Veturi|url=http://ebooks.tirumala.org/Home/Download/?ID=614|title=Prabandha Ratnavali|publisher=Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam|year=2014|page=44|orig-date=1918}}{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2024}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MaLgBQAAQBAJ|title=Rethinking Hindu Identity|last=Jha|first=Dwijendra Narayan|year=2014|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-49033-3}} Rechana's work is variously dated from 940 CE to 12th and 13th century. Most scholars date him to post-Nannaya period.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Adikavi Pampa had written a Telugu work named Jinendra Puranam, a Jain work written in 941 CE.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the earliest period Telugu literature existed in the form of inscriptions, precisely from 575 CE onward. Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE. Most scholars posit that Telugu literature existed prior to Nannaya (11th century), the first known Telugu poet.{{rp|page=16}} T. Vijay Kumar notes, "Since no literary texts in Telugu pre-dating 1020 C.E. have so far actually been discovered, the existence of any pre-Nannaya literature remains a matter of speculation and debate."

This is the period of Kavitrayam or Trinity of Poets. Nannayya, Tikkana, and Yerrapragada (or Errana) are known as the Kavitrayam.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Nannaya's (Telugu: నన్నయ) Andhra Mahabharatam written in early 11th century is commonly referred to as the first Telugu literary composition (Aadi Kavyam). 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. 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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Tikkana Somayaji (1205–1288 CE): Nannaya's Andhra Mahabharatam was almost completed by Tikanna Somayaji (Telugu: తిక్కన సోమయాజి) (1205–1288) who wrote chapters 4 to 18.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

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.{{relevance inline|date=October 2022}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Sumati Satakam, which is a neeti ("moral"), is one of the most famous Telugu Satakams.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Satakam is composed of more than a 100 padyalu (poems). According to many literary critics{{who|date=July 2022}} Sumati Satakam 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 Satakam was indeed written by Baddena, it would rank as one of the earliest Satakams 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 Satakam 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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Palkuriki Somanatha: Important among his Telugu language writings are the Basava Purana, Panditaradhya charitra, Malamadevipuranamu and Somanatha Stava–in dwipada metre ("couplets"); Anubhavasara, Chennamallu Sisamalu, Vrushadhipa Sataka and Cheturvedasara–in verses; Basavodharana in verses and ragale metre (rhymed couplets in blank verse); and the Basavaragada.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Gona Budda Reddy: His Ranganatha Ramayanam was a pioneering work in the Telugu language on the theme of the Ramayana epic. Most scholars believe he wrote it between 1300 and 1310 A.D., possibly with help from his family. The work has become part of cultural life in Andhra Pradesh and is used in puppet shows.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the Telugu literature Tikkana was given agraasana (top position) by many famous critics.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

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 Telugu grammar. Other well-known writings by Chinnayasoori are Neethichandrika, Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu, Andhra Dhatumoola, and Neeti Sangrahamu.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848–1919) is generally considered the father of modern Telugu literature.{{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}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Viswanatha Satyanarayana won India's national literary honour, the Jnanpith Award for his magnum opus Ramayana Kalpavrukshamu.{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature |last=Datta |first=Amaresh |author2=Lal, Mohan |year=1991 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |page=3294}} C. Narayana Reddy won the Jnanpith Award in 1988 for his poetic work, Viswambara. Ravuri Bharadhwaja won the third Jnanpith Award for Telugu literature in 2013 for Paakudu Raallu, a graphic account of life behind the screen in film industry.{{cite book |title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology |last=George |first=K.M. |year=1992 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-7201-324-0 |page=1121}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

{{Main category|Telugu-language mass media}}

Telugu input, display, and support were initially provided on the Microsoft Windows platform. Subsequently, various browsers, computer applications, operating systems, and user interfaces were localised 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.{{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=13 August 2013|access-date=13 December 2013|archive-date=26 December 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}}

{{Div col start|colwidth=30em}}

• Telugu grammar
• Telugu people
• Telugu states
• Telugu years
• List of languages by number of native speakers in India
• List of Telugu-language newspapers
• List of Telugu-language television channels
• States of India by Telugu speakers
• Telugu language policy

{{Div col end}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin|40em}}

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• 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}}
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|last=Wilkinson

|first=Robert W.

|year=1974

|title=Tense/lax vowel harmony in Telugu: The influence of derived contrast on rule application

|journal=Linguistic Inquiry

|volume=5

|issue=2

|pages=251–270

}}

• {{citation | last = Zvelebil | first = Kamil | title = Dravidian Linguistics: An Introduction | publisher = Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-81-8545-201-2 }}

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

• [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Telugu-language Telugu language] at Encyclopædia Britannica
• [https://archive.org/details/dictionarymixed00unkngoog Dictionary of mixed Telugu By Charles Philip Brown]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050603081433/http://www.engr.mun.ca/~adluri/telugu/language/script/script1a.html Origins of Telugu Script]

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