Telugu | |
---|---|
తెలుగు | |
Pronunciation | [ˈteluɡu] |
Native to | India |
Region | |
Ethnicity | Telugu |
Native speakers | L1: 83 million (2011 census)[1][2] L2: 13 million (2011 census)[1] |
Early forms | Old Telugu
|
Dialects |
|
Signed Telugu | |
Official status | |
Official language in |
|
Recognised minority language in | South Africa (protected language)[5] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | te |
ISO 639-2 | tel |
ISO 639-3 | tel – inclusive codeIndividual code: wbq – Waddar (Vadari) |
tel | |
Glottolog | telu1262 Teluguoldt1249 Old Telugu |
Linguasphere | 49-DBA-aa |
Dark blue - Telugu is spoken by a majority. Light blue - Telugu is spoken by a significant minority. | |
Person | Telugu |
---|---|
People | Teluguvāru |
Language | Telugu, Teluṅgu, Tenuṅgu |
Country | Telugu Nāḍu |
Telugu (/ˈtɛlʊɡuː/;[6] తెలుగు, Telugu pronunciation: [ˈt̪eluɡu]) is a Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022),[7] Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India.[8] It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali.[9] Telugu is one of the six languages designated as a classical language by the Government of India. It is the 14th most spoken native language in the world.[10][11]
Telugu is also spoken in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and the union territories of Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by members of the Telugu diaspora spread across countries like United States, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Mauritius, UAE, Saudi Arabia and others.[12][13] Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States.[14] It is also a protected language in South Africa and is offered as an optional third language in schools in KwaZulu-Natal province.[5][15]
According to Mikhail S. Andronov, Proto-Telugu split from the Proto South-Central-Dravidian language around 1000 BCE.[16][17] The earliest Telugu inscription found so far is the Kalamalla inscription dating to 575 CE put up by Renati Chola king Erikal Mutturaju Dhanunjaya.[18] Inscriptions in Old Telugu script were found as far away as Indonesia and Myanmar.[19] Telugu was the court language of various dynasties of South India namely the Andhra Chola, Eastern Chalukyas, Eastern Gangas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagara Empire, Qutb Shahis, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks.[24] Telugu was used officially as a language of bureaucracy outside its homeland even by non-Telugu dynasties like the Thanjavur Marathas in Tamil Nadu.[25][21]
Telugu has an unbroken, prolific, and diverse literary tradition of over a thousand years.[26][27] Pavuluri Mallana's Sāra Sangraha Ganitamu (c. 11th century) is the first scientific treatise on mathematics in any Dravidian language.[28][29] Avadhānaṃ, a literary performance that requires immense memory power and an in-depth knowledge of literature and prosody, originated and was specially cultivated among Telugu poets for over five centuries.[30][31] Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in Telugu.[32]
In the precolonial era, Telugu became the language of high culture across South India.[37] Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance of French as the cultural language of modern Europe during roughly the same era.[36] Telugu also predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music, one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music and is widely taught in music colleges focusing on Carnatic tradition.[40] Various non-Telugu people over the centuries have remarked on the natural musicality of Telugu speech, referring to it as a mellifluous and euphonious language.[39][41][42]
Again, Telugu is one of the two non-Hindi languages (the other being Bengali) that is the primary state official language of more than one state.
:8
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Relations
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).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.
Telugu had become the language of high culture in southern India during the medieval period, and by the seventeenth century its status rivalled that of Sanskrit.
:5
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).In Tyagaraja's time, Telugu was the language of high culture even in Tanjore, the heartland of the Tamil linguistic area.
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.