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T HOLLU

Telugu is a Dravidian language with ancient roots, primarily spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and has over 82 million native speakers, making it one of the most spoken languages in India. It is recognized as one of India's scheduled languages and was designated a Classical Language in 2008. The Telugu script is an abugida derived from Brahmi, and the language features a rich vowel and consonant system, with a typical Subject-Object-Verb word order.

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43 views2 pages

T HOLLU

Telugu is a Dravidian language with ancient roots, primarily spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and has over 82 million native speakers, making it one of the most spoken languages in India. It is recognized as one of India's scheduled languages and was designated a Classical Language in 2008. The Telugu script is an abugida derived from Brahmi, and the language features a rich vowel and consonant system, with a typical Subject-Object-Verb word order.

Uploaded by

SJHEIK Abdullah
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Telugu (తెలుగు)

1. Origins and Linguistic Family:


o Dravidian Language: It belongs to the Central Dravidian branch of the Dravidian
language family.
o Evolution: Telugu has ancient roots, with inscriptions dating back to around 400
BCE - 100 BCE (Bhattiprolu script). It evolved from Proto-Dravidian and has a rich
literary tradition.
2. Geographic Distribution & Speakers:
o Primary Region: Predominantly spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana, where it is the official language.
o Other Regions: Significant populations of Telugu speakers are also found in
neighboring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, and
Chhattisgarh, as well as in diasporas worldwide (USA, Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji, UK,
Australia, Canada, etc.).
o Speakers: It's one of the most widely spoken languages in India, with over 82
million native speakers, making it one of the top 20 most spoken languages globally.
3. Official Status:
o One of the 22 scheduled languages of India.
o The official language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
o Recognized as a Classical Language of India in 2008, due to its ancient literary
heritage.
4. Writing System (Script):
o The Telugu script (తెలుగు లిపి - Telugu lipi) is an abugida (a syllabic alphabet
where consonants have an inherent vowel, typically /a/, which is modified by
diacritics).
o It evolved from the ancient Brahmi script, via the Kadamba and Bhattiprolu scripts.
o The script is known for its rounded, flowing characters, which historically made it
suitable for writing on palm leaves. It shares visual similarities with the Kannada
script, from which it diverged.
5. Key Linguistic Features:
o Agglutinative Language: Like other Dravidian languages, Telugu is highly
agglutinative, meaning grammatical functions are indicated by adding suffixes to root
words.
o Phonology:
 Rich vowel and consonant system.
 Known for its vowel harmony to some extent (though not as strictly as some
other agglutinative languages like Turkish).
 Many words end in vowels, which led 16th-century Italian explorer Niccolò
de' Conti to call it the "Italian of the East."
o Grammar:
 Word Order: Typically Subject-Object-Verb (SOV).
 Cases: Uses a system of cases for nouns.
 Gender: Has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Unlike Tamil or
Malayalam where inanimate objects are typically neuter, in Telugu, some
inanimate nouns can be masculine or feminine based on their endings or
traditional classifications.
 No Articles: Telugu does not have articles like "a/an" or "the."
o Vocabulary:
 The core vocabulary is Dravidia

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