Telugu has an unbroken, prolific, and diverseliterary tradition of over a thousand years.[33][34]Pavuluri Mallana'sSāra Sangraha Ganitamu (c. 11th century) is the first scientifictreatise on mathematics in any Dravidian language.[35][36]Avadhānaṃ, a literary performance that requires immense memory power and an in-depth knowledge of literature andprosody, originated and was specially cultivated among Telugu poets for over five centuries.[37][38] Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in Telugu.[39]
In the precolonial era, Telugu became the language ofhigh culture throughoutSouth India.[43] Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance ofFrench as the cultural language ofEurope during roughly the same era.[42] Telugu also predominates in the evolution ofCarnatic music, one of two main subgenres ofIndian classical music and is widely taught in music colleges focusing on Carnatic tradition.[46] Over the centuries, many non-Telugu speakers have praised the naturalmusicality of Telugu speech, referring to it as a mellifluous andeuphonious language.[47][48]
Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simplyTelugu orTelugoo.[49] Older forms of the name includeTeluṅgu andTenuṅgu.[50]Tenugu is derived from theProto-Dravidian word*ten ("south")[51] to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction" (relative to Sanskrit andPrakrit-speaking peoples). The nameTelugu, then, is a result of an "n" to "l" alternation established in Telugu.[52][53]
The popular belief holds that Telugu is derived from Trilinga ofTrilinga Kshetras being the land bounded by the threeLingas which is Telugu homeland. P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it theTrilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar).[54] However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar was titledAtharvana Karikavali.[59]Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote thatTelugu was derived fromTrilinga. ScholarC. P. Brown made a comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation.[60]
George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather thatTelugu was the older term andTrilinga must be the laterSanskritisation of it.[61][62] If so the derivation itself must have been quite ancient becauseTriglyphum,Trilingum andModogalingam are attested in ancient Greek sources, the last of which can be interpreted as a Telugu rendition of "Trilinga".[63]
Proto-Telugu is the reconstructed linguistic ancestor of all the dialects and registers of Telugu.[67] Russian linguist Mikhail S. Andronov, places the split of Telugu atc.1000 BCE.[68]
The linguistic history of Telugu is periodised as follows:[19][69]
Pre-historic Telugu is identified with the period around 600 BCE or even earlier.[70][71] Pre-historic Telugu is considered one of the most conservative languages of the Dravidian family based on its linguistic features.[72][73]
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.[74] Examples includepū-ḷ (flowers),ā-ḷ (cows), distinct fromkolan-kuḷ (tanks), andī-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.[75]
Personal Pronouns: Reconstructed personal pronouns includeñān (I) with the oblique formñā, andñām orēm (we).[76]
Phonemic Retention: The early language displayed high phonemic retention, with characteristic phonemes like thevoiced retroflex approximant (ḻ or /ɻ/) and thevoiced alveolar plosive (ḏ or /d/), which evolved into thealveolar trill (ṟ or /r/) in different positions. Both /d/ and /r/ are evidenced as distinct phonemes in early epigraphic records.[77][78]
Tenses: Tenses were structured as "past vs non-past," and gender was categorized as "masculine vs non-masculine."[79]
Demonstratives: Three demonstratives were in use:ā (distant 'that'),ī (proximate 'this'), andū (intermediate 'yonder'; in Classical Telugu,ulla).[80]
Non-Palatalized Initials: Non-palatalized initials are identified in words likekēsiri ("they did"), found in inscriptions up until the 8th century CE.[81]
Word Endings: Words typically ended in vowels, though some had consonant endings withsonorants like-y,-r,-m,-n,-l,-ḷ,-ḻ, and-w. Classical Telugu developed anepenthetic-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, andpāka(m).[77]
Apical Displacement: Apical displacement was underway for certain words.[82]
Conjunctive Marker: The conjunctive marker-um had various structural applications.[83]
TheGhantasala Brahmin inscription[87] and the pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni at Vijayapuri,Nagarjunakonda, and other locations date to the first century CE.[23][88] Additionally, theTummalagudem inscription of theVishnukundinas dates to the 5th century CE.[89][23] Telugu place names in Prakrit inscriptions are attested from the 2nd century CE onwards.[90][91]
The period from the 4th century CE to 1022 CE marks the second phase of Telugu history, following theAndhra Ikshvaku period. The first long inscription entirely in Telugu, dated to 575 CE, is attributed to theRenati Choda king Dhanunjaya and found in theKadapa district.[90][94][26]
From the 6th century onwards, complete Telugu inscriptions began to appear in districts neighbouring Kadapa such as Prakasam andPalnadu.[100]: 10 Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE.[101][102] The Madras Museum plates of Balliya-Choda dated to the mid-ninth century CE, are the earliest copper plate grants in the Telugu language.[103]
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 asNannayya'sAndhra Mahabharatam (1022 CE).[104]
Middle Ages
The third phase is marked by further stylisation and sophistication of the literary languages. During this period the split of theTelugu from theTelugu-Kannada alphabet took place.[105]
Vijayanagara Empire
TheVijayanagara Empire gained dominance from 1336 to the late 17th century, reaching its peak during the rule ofKrishnadevaraya in the 16th century, when Telugu literature experienced what is considered itsGolden Age.[104] The 15th-century Venetian explorerNiccolò de' Conti, who visited theVijayanagara Empire, found that the words in the Telugu language end with vowels, just like those inItalian, and hence referred to it as "The Italian of the East";[106] a saying that has been widely repeated.[107]
Delhi Sultanate, Qutb Shahi, and Nizam era
A distinct dialect developed in present-dayHyderabad region, due toPersian andArabic influence. This influence began with the establishment of theDelhi Sultanate rule by theTughlaq dynasty in the northern Deccan Plateau during the 14th century.
In the latter half of the 17th century, theMughal Empire extended further south, culminating in the establishment of theHyderabad State by the dynasty of theNizam of Hyderabad in 1724. This heralded an era ofPersian influence on the Telugu language, especially Hyderabad State. The effect is also evident in the prose of the early 19th century, as in thekaifiyats.[104]
Since the 1930s, what was considered an "elite" literary form of the Telugu language has now spread to the common people with the introduction ofmass media like movies, television, radio and newspapers. This form of the language is also taught in schools and colleges as a standard.[109]
In the Indian subcontinent, a command over the Telugu language, alongsideSanskrit,Tamil,Meitei,Oriya,Persian, orArabic, is highly appreciated and respected for learning dances (most significantlyIndian Classical Dances) as dancers could have the tools of these languages to go into the primary material texts.[122]
In addition, with the creation in October 2004 of a legal status for classical languages by theGovernment of India on 8 August 2008, Telugu was also given classical language status due to several campaigns.[131][23][132]
According to the famous Japanese historianNoboru 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.[39] Telugu inscriptions are found in all the districts ofAndhra Pradesh and Telangana.[135] They are also found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.[139] According to recent estimates by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) the number of inscriptions in the Telugu language goes up to 14,000.[100][140] 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.[141][142]
Geographical influence
Telugu region boundaries
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 modernGanjam district inOdisha and to the south bySrikalahasteeswara temple inTirupati district.[143] However,Andhra extended westwards as far asSrisailam inNandyal district, about halfway across the modern state.[144] According to other sources in the early sixteenth century, the northern boundary isSimhachalam and the southern limit isTirumala of the Telugu ation.[145][146][147][148][149][150]
Waddar,Chenchu, andManna-Dora are all closely related to Telugu.[153] 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.[154]
Phonology
A man living inGermany speaking Telugu.A woman residing inAmerica speaking Telugu.
Telugu words generally end in vowels. In Old Telugu, this was absolute; in the modern languagem, n, y, w may end a word. Sanskrit loans have introduced aspirated and murmured consonants as well.
Telugu does not havecontrastive stress, and speakers vary on where they perceive stress. Most place it on the penultimate or final syllable, depending on word and vowel length.[155]
Consonants
The table below lists the consonant phonemes of Telugu,[156][157] 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/[158] there is also an unaspirated /pɐddenimidi/ version which is used more commonly. All of the fricatives except for native/s/ also only occurs in loanwords.[157]
Perso-Arabic phonemes like /q, x, ɣ, z/ are substituted with /k, kʰ, ɡ, d͡ʒ/ similar to Hindi.[157]
/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].[157]
/ʋ/ can be rounded to a [β̞ʷ] around rounded vowels.[157]
The common Proto Dravidian approximant */ɻ/ merged with /ɖ/ in Telugu while it was preserved as /ɽ/ in the other Southern II branch languages.[158]
Many of the old /ɳ/ and /ɭ/ merged with /n/ and /l/.[158]
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:[157]
/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)
Allretroflex 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', /ʈhiːʋi/ṭhīvi 'grandeur', /ɖipːɐ/ḍippā 'half of a spherical object', and /ʂoːku/ṣōku 'fashionable appearance'.[157]
The approximant /j/ occurs in word-initial position only in borrowed words, such as. /jɐnɡu/yangu, from English 'young', /jɐʃɐsːu/yaśassu from Sanskrityaśas /jɐʃɐs/ 'fame'.[citation needed]
Vowels
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.[157] 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.
Allophones
In most dialects, the vowel/æː/ only occurs in loan words. In theGuntur dialect,[æː] is a frequent allophone of/aː/ in certain verbs in the past tense.
Telugu has two diphthongs:/ai/ (ఐ) and/au/ (ఔ).
Roots alter according to whether the first vowel is tense or lax.[159][need illustrations] Also, if the second vowel is open (i.e.,/aː/ or/a/), then the first vowel is more open and centralised (e.g.,[mɛːka] 'goat', as opposed to[meːku] 'nail').[citation needed] Telugu words also have vowels in inflectional suffixes that are harmonised with the vowels of the preceding syllable.[160]
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.[162]
The traditional study of Telugu Grammar is known asvyākaraṇam (వ్యాకరణం). The first treatise on Telugu grammar, theĀndhra Śabda Cintāmaṇi, was written in Sanskrit byNannayya, considered the first Telugu poet and translator, in the 12th century CE. This grammar followed patterns described in grammatical treatises such asAṣṭādhyāyī andVālmīkivyākaranam, but unlikePāṇini, Nannayya divided his work into five chapters, coveringsamjnā,sandhi,ajanta,halanta andkriya.
In the 19th century, Chinnaya Suri wrote a condensed work on Telugu grammar calledBāla Vyākaraṇam, borrowing concepts and ideas from Nannayya's grammar.
Morphosyntax
Relations between participants in an event are coded in Telugu words throughsuffixation; there are no prefixes or infixes in the language.[156] 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.
As with other Dravidian languages, gender in Telugu follows a semantic system,[165] 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.[156]
In terms of the verbal agreement system, genders in marking on the Telugu verb only occur in the third person.[156]
Third person
Singular
Plural
Masculine
tericā-ḍu
tericā-ḍu
He opened
tericā-ru
tericā-ru
They opened
Feminine
tericin-di
tericin-di
She opened
tericā-ru
tericā-ru
They opened
Neuter
tericin-di
tericin-di
It opened
tericā-yi/tericina-vi
tericā-yi/tericina-vi
They (non-human) opened
The Telugu gender system differs from other Dravidian languages such asTamil 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-pluralpairs of suffixes.[165]
Gender
Verbal suffixes (singular : plural)
Masculine
-ḍu : -ru
Feminine
-di : -ru
Neuter
-di : -yi/-vi
Pronouns
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).
Personal pronouns
Telugu pronouns
I
నేను,nēnu
we (inclusive)
మనం,manaṃ
మనము,manamu
we (exclusive)
మేము,mēmu
you (singular)
నీవు,nīvu
నువ్వు,nuvvu
you (plural)
మీరు,mīru
she
ఆమె,āme
he
అతను,atanu
they (humans)
వాళ్ళు,vāḷḷu
it
అది,adi
they (non-humans)
అవి,avi
అయి,ayi
In informal Telugu, personal pronouns distinguish masculine from non-masculine.[166][167]
Demonstratives
There is a wide variety ofdemonstrative 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 forthis woman orthis man andthat woman orthat man can also simply meanshe andhe 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), basicallythis and that, andthese and those.
Singular
Proximal
(close to speaker, "this")
Distal
(far from speaker, "that")
Gender/Formality
Feminine
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Masculine
Neuter
very informal
idi
vīḍu
idi
adi
vāḍu
adi
informal
īme
itanu
āme
atanu
formal
īviḍa
īyana
āviḍa
āyana
very formal
vīru
vāru
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.
Plural
Proximal
(close to speaker, "these")
Distal
(far from speaker, "those")
Feminine
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Masculine
Neuter
vīỊỊu/vīru
ivi
vāỊỊu/vāru
avi
Case system
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.
Lexicon
Majority of the lexicon in Telugu is inherited fromProto-Dravidian language, a reconstructed hypothetical language of third millennium BCE.[168][169] Telugu retained some of the most archaic words, markers and morphemes of the Dravidian origin.[170][171] It shares its cognates with its closest South-Dravidian-II languages likeGondi,Kuwi and also with other Dravidian languages such asTamil andKannada.
The lexicon of Classical Telugu works shows a pervasive influence of Sanskrit; there is also evidence suggesting an earlier influence even before Nannaya.[172] During the period 1000–1100 CE, Nannaya's re-writing of theMahābhārata in Telugu (మహాభారతము) established the liberal borrowing of Sanskrit words.[173]
Literature inAccatelugu (అచ్చతెలుగు),Mēlimitelugu (మేలిమితెలుగు), orJānutelugu (జానుతెలుగు) by poets likeAdibhatla Narayana Dasu andPonneganti Telaganna emphasised the importance of native lexicon of Dravidian origin, in contrast to the extensive borrowings from Sanskrit and Prakrit.[174][70] 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 fromPersian andArabic (throughUrdu and directly) languages. These words have been modified to fit Telugu phonology. This was due toTurkic rule in these regions, such as the erstwhile kingdoms ofGolkonda andHyderabad (e.g., కబురు,/kaburu/ for Urdu/xabar/,خبر or జవాబు,/dʒavaːbu/ for Urdu/dʒawɑːb/,جواب).
Many words were borrowed fromEnglish language in the modern era and a few fromPortuguese during the colonial era. Modern Telugu vocabulary can be said to constitute adiglossia because the formal, standardised version of the language is eitherlexically 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.
Prakruti and Vikruti
Telugu has manyTatsama words, called Prakruti. These are direct borrowings from Sanskrit. The equivalent forms of Prakruti words, known as Vikruti words (orTadbhava words), originate from the same Sanskrit root word, but have evolved through phonological changes in Sanskrit's descendant Prakrit languages, which they were borrowed from. The word "vikruti" means "distorted" in Sanskrit. In addition to phonological changes, some Vikruti words have also undergone semantic shifts, altering their meanings over time. However, Prakruti words are generally used in formal settings such as educational institutions and offices. Below is a table of Prakruti words and their corresponding Vikruti words, with semantic shifts noted:
Prakruti
Vikruti
అగ్నిagni (fire)
అగ్గిaggi
భోజనంbhōjanaṁ (food; meal)
బోనంbōnaṁ
విద్యvidya (education)
విద్దెvidde, విద్దియviddiya
రాక్షసిrākṣasi (demoness)
రక్కసిrakkasi
శూన్యంśūnyaṁ (emptiness, void)
సున్నsunna (zero)
దృష్టిdr̥ṣṭi (sight)
దిష్టిdiṣṭi (evil eye)
కనిష్టంkaniśṭaṁ (minimum)
కనీసంkanīsaṁ (at least, smallest)
అగరవర్తి agaravarti (incense)
అగరవత్తిagaravatti
విభూతిvibhūti (ash)
విభూధిvibhūdhi
చనకcanaka (chickpea)
శనగśanaga
కవచkavaca (protective shell)
గవచgavaca, గవ్వgavva
భిక్షంbhikṣaṁ (alms)
బిచ్చంbiccaṁ
ద్వితీయdvitīya (second)
విదియvidiya
తృతీయtr̥tīya (third)
తదియtadiya
జాగ్రతjāgrata (alert, careful)
జాగ్రత్తjāgratta (beware, careful)
వామతిvāmati (vomit)
వాంతిvānti
స్వంతsvanta (own)
సొంతsonta
అటవిaṭavi (forest)
అడవిaḍavi
త్వరtvara (fast)
తొరtora
రక్తంraktaṁ (blood)
రగతంragataṁ, రత్తంrattaṁ
Sample text
The given sample text is Article 1 from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[175]
English
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.
Telugu script is anabugida 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 theBrahmi script like those of many other Indian languages.[176][177] 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.[178]
Telugu has full-zero ("anusvāra" or"sunna" ) ( ం ), half-zero ("arthanusvāra" or "candrabindu" or"ara-sunna" ) (ఁ) andvisarga ( ః ) to convey various shades of nasal sounds. [la] and [La], [ra] and [Ra] are differentiated.[178]
Telugu hasĉ [t͡s] andĵ [d͡z], which are not represented in Sanskrit.
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)
These are some examples of combining a consonant with different vowels. 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
Amarāvati Stupa is a ruined Buddhist stūpa at the village ofAmaravathi,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.[19][84]
Ancient Telugu Writing displayed at Telugu Museum
Early Medieval Telugu Writings Period (500 – 850 CE)
These writings were mostly written by the Vishnukudinas, Telugu Chodas, and the Chalukyas.[citation needed]
Kallamalla Writing (575 CE)
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]
Indravarma Sasanam
This was a writing written by Indra Varma in the 6th century. Indra Varma was a Vishnukudina king in the 6th century.[citation needed]
Old Telugu Script – Vishnukundina Indra Varma Sasanam 6th century
Janashrayi-Chhandovichiti
The 6th- or 7th-centurySanskrit textJanashrayi-Chhandovichiti (orJanāśraya-chandas) deals with themetres used in Telugu, including some metres that are not found inSanskrit prosody. This indicates that Telugu poetry existed during or around the 6th century.[180]
Vipparla and Lakshmipuram Writings
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]
Addanki Poem
Addanki inscription also known as the Pandaranga inscription belongs to 848AD,[181] 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.
Telugu Jain Literature Period (850-1020 CE)
Malliya Rechana
Malliya Rechana composed the first Telugu poetic prosody bookKavijanasrayam (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.[182][183][184]
Veturi Prabhakara Sastry in 1900s mentioned the existence ofPre-Nannayya Chandassu in Raja Raja Narendra Pattabhisheka Sanchika.[184] Accurate dating of this piece of literature happened after the 1980s discoveries in Karimnagar.[185][unreliable source?][157][186] Rechana's work is variously dated from 940 CE to 12th and 13th century. Most scholars date him to post-Nannaya period.[citation needed]
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.[101][102] Most scholars posit that Telugu literature existed prior toNannaya (11th century), the first known Telugu poet.[100]: 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."[102]
The Age of the Puranas (1020–1400 CE)
This is the period of Kavitrayam or Trinity of Poets. Nannayya,Tikkana, andYerrapragada (or Errana) are known as the Kavitrayam.[citation needed]
Nannaya's (Telugu: నన్నయ)Andhra Mahabharatam written in early 11th century is commonly referred to as the first Telugu literary composition (Aadi Kavyam).[102] 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]
Tikkana Somayaji (1205–1288 CE): Nannaya'sAndhra Mahabharatam was almost completed by Tikanna Somayaji (Telugu: తిక్కన సోమయాజి) (1205–1288) who wrote chapters 4 to 18.[citation needed]
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'sDasakumara 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?][citation needed]
Sumati Satakam, which is a neeti ("moral"), is one of the most famous Telugu Satakams.[citation needed] Satakam is composed of more than a 100 padyalu (poems). According to many literary critics[who?] 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] 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?] 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]
Palkuriki Somanatha: Important among his Telugu language writings are theBasava 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]
Gona Budda Reddy: HisRanganatha Ramayanam was a pioneering work in the Telugu language on the theme of theRamayana 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]
In the Telugu literatureTikkana was given agraasana (top position) by many famous critics.[citation needed]
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 theBala Vyakaranam in a new style after doing extensive research on Telugu grammar. Other well-known writings by Chinnayasoori areNeethichandrika,Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu,Andhra Dhatumoola, andNeeti Sangrahamu.[citation needed]
Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848–1919) is generally considered the father of modern Telugu literature.[187] His novelRajasekhara Charitamu was inspired by theVicar 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 areGurajada Appa Rao,Viswanatha Satyanarayana,Gurram Jashuva,Rayaprolu Subba Rao,Devulapalli Krishnasastri andSrirangam Srinivasa Rao, popularly known asMahakavi 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 theShelley of Telugu literature because of his pioneering works in Telugu Romantic poetry.[citation needed]
Telugu input, display, and support were initially provided on theMicrosoft Windows platform. Subsequently, various browsers, computer applications, operating systems, and user interfaces were localised in Telugu language for Windows andLinux platforms by vendors andfree and open-source software volunteers. Telugu-capable smart phones were also introduced by vendors in 2013.[190]
^"The Dance Traditions of Thanjavur".Oberlin College Libraries. Retrieved16 March 2023.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.
^abcRamaswamy, Vijaya (25 August 2017).Historical Dictionary of the Tamils.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 88.ISBN978-1-5381-0686-0.In precolonial or early-modern South India, Telugu became the cultural language of the south, including the Tamil country, somewhat similar to the overwhelming dominance of French as the cultural language of modern Europe during roughly the same era. Therefore, Telugu predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music, and it is the practice to teach Telugu language in music colleges to those aspiring to become singers.
^Sekaram, Kandavalli Balendu (1973),The Andhras through the ages, Sri Saraswati Book Depot, p. 4,archived from the original on 13 October 2022, retrieved25 January 2017,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.
^Sjoberg, Andree F.; Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (December 1966). "Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study".Language.42 (4):838–846.doi:10.2307/411840.ISSN0097-8507.JSTOR411840.
^Linguistic Survey of India (1906). 1906. p. 273.Dravidian languages such as Telugu have preserved older forms and represent a more ancient state of development.
^Pollock, Sheldon (2003).The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India. University of California Press. p. 290.ISBN978-0-5202-4500-6.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017)."Teluguic".Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^"Telugu". Ethnologue.Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved30 March 2016.
^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.
^abcdKrishnamurti (1998), "Telugu". In Steever (ed.),The Dravidian Languages. Routledge. pp. 202–240, 260
^Charles Philip Brown (1857).A grammar of the Telugu language (2 ed.). Christian Knowledge Society's Press. p. 39.Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved3 August 2014.
^Sjoberg, Andree F.; Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (December 1966). "Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study".Language.42 (4): 838.doi:10.2307/411840.ISSN0097-8507.JSTOR411840.
^United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names; United Nations Statistical Division (2007).Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names. United Nations Publications. p. 110.ISBN978-92-1-161500-5.
^Sarma, Challa Radhakrishna (1975).Landmarks in Telugu Literature. Lakshminarayana Granthamala. p. 30.Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved1 March 2015.
^Datta, Amaresh; Lal, Mohan (1991).Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature.Sahitya Akademi. p. 3294.
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