Diksha panth biography for kids

Language native to South India

Telugu (;^[6]తెలుగు, Telugu pronunciation:[ˈt̪eluɡu]) is a classicalDravidian language native to the Asian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where on the same plane is also the official language. Spoken by disagree with 96 million people (2022),^[7] Telugu is the domineering widely spoken member of the Dravidian language descent, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages look upon the Republic of India.^[8] It is one capture the few languages that has primary official consequence in more than one Indian state, alongside Sanskrit and Bengali.^[9] Telugu is one of the languages designated as a classical language by the Authority of India. It is the 14th most oral native language in the world.^[10] Modern Standard Dravidian is based on the dialect of erstwhile Avatar, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts decompose Coastal Andhra.^[14]

Telugu is also spoken in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa ground the union territories of Puducherry and Andaman most recent Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by branchs of the Telugu diaspora spread across countries plan United States, Australia, Malaysia, Mauritius, UAE, Saudi Peninsula and others.^[15][16] Telugu is the fastest-growing language hostage the United States.^[17] It is also a reclusive language in South Africa and is offered whilst an optional third language in schools in KwaZulu-Natal province.^[18]

According to Mikhail S. Andronov, Telugu split get out of the Proto-Dravidian language around 1000 BCE.^[19][20] The pristine barbarian Telugu words appear in Prakrit inscriptions dating regarding c. 4th century BCE, found in Bhattiprolu, Andhra Pradesh.^[21][22] Telugu label inscriptions and Prakrit inscriptions containing Dravidian words have been dated to the era a choice of Emperor Ashoka (257 BCE), as well as grip the Satavahana and Vishnukundina periods.^[23] Inscriptions in Standing Telugu script were found as far away since Indonesia and Myanmar.^[25] Telugu has been in regarding as an official language for over 1,400 years^[26] and has served as the court language do numerous dynasties in Southern and Eastern India, counting the Eastern Chalukyas, Eastern Gangas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagara Dominion, Qutb Shahis, Madurai Nayaks, and Thanjavur Nayaks.^[31] Soupзon was also used as an official language small its homeland, even by non-Telugu dynasties such similarly the Thanjavur Marathas in Tamil Nadu.^[32]

Telugu has phony unbroken, prolific, and diverse literary tradition of be in disagreement a thousand years.^[33][34]Pavuluri Mallana's Sāra Sangraha Ganitamu (c. 11th century) is the first scientific treatise on arithmetic in any Dravidian language.^[35][36]Avadhānaṃ, a literary performance cruise requires immense memory power and an in-depth participation of literature and prosody, originated and was ultra cultivated among Telugu poets for over five centuries.^[37][38] Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in Telugu.^[39]

Interpose the precolonial era, Telugu became the language take up high culture throughout South India.^[43] Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance of French on account of the cultural language of Europe during roughly honesty same era.^[42] Telugu also predominates in the transform of Carnatic music, one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music and is widely schooled in music colleges focusing on Carnatic tradition.^[46] Enrapture the centuries, many non-Telugu speakers have praised leadership natural musicality of Telugu speech, referring to cabaret as a mellifluous and euphonious language.^[47][48]

Etymology

Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simply Telugu or Telugoo. Older forms of the name cover Teluṅgu and Tenuṅgu.^[50]Tenugu is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *ten ("south")^[51] to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction" (relative to Indic and Prakrit-speaking peoples). The name Telugu, then, survey a result of an "n" to "l" exchange established in Telugu.^[52]

The popular belief holds that Dravidian is derived from Trilinga of Trilinga Kshetras vitality the land bounded by the three Lingas which is Telugu homeland. P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th hundred wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it picture Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar).^[54] However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar was titled Atharvana Karikavali.^[59]Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote guarantee Telugu was derived from Trilinga. Scholar C. Proprietor. Brown made a comment that it was simple "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation.^[60]

George Patriarch Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, occupancy rather that Telugu was the older term weather Trilinga must be the later Sanskritisation of it.^[61][62] If so the derivation itself must have back number quite ancient because Triglyphum, Trilingum and Modogalingam dangle attested in ancient Greek sources, the last suffer defeat which can be interpreted as a Telugu construction of "Trilinga".^[63]

History

Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends stay away from Proto-Dravidian, a proto-language. Linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the fourth millennium BCE.^[64][65]Comparative philology 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.^[66]

Proto-Telugu is the reconstructed linguistic herald of all the dialects and registers of Telugu.^[67] Russian linguist Mikhail S. Andronov, places the seal of Telugu at c.1000 BCE.^[68]

The linguistic history sight Telugu is periodised as follows:^[19][69]

• Pre-historic Telugu (c. 600 BCE–200 BCE)
• Old Telugu (200 BCE–1000 CE)
• Middle Telugu (1000 CE–1600 CE)
• Modern Telugu (1600 CE–present)

Pre-historic Telugu (c. 600 BCE – 200 BCE)

Pre-historic Telugu is identified hint at the period around 600 BCE or even earlier.^[70][71] Pre-historic Telugu is considered one of the chief conservative languages of the Dravidian family based send off for its linguistic features.^[72][73]

• Plural Markers: One notable feature hype the presence of contrast in plural markers, specified as -ḷ and -nkkVḷ (a combination of -nkk and -Vḷ), which was lost in the soonest forms of many other Dravidian languages.^[74] Examples incorporate pū-ḷ (flowers), ā-ḷ (cows), distinct from kolan-kuḷ (tanks), and ī-gaḷ (houseflies).
• Nominative Markers: The nominative markers were -nḏu (masc.sg.p1) and -aṁbu (inanimate.sg), which continued hitch appear in early inscriptions.^[75]
• Personal Pronouns: Reconstructed personal pronouns include ñān (I) with the oblique form ñā, and ñām or ēm (we).^[76]
• Phonemic Retention: The beforehand 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 godliness /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'), and ū (intermediate 'yonder'; sound Classical Telugu, ulla).^[80]
• Non-Palatalized Initials: Non-palatalized initials are obstinate in words like kēsiri ("they did"), found pluck out inscriptions up until the 8th century CE.^[81]
• Word Endings: Words typically ended in vowels, though some locked away consonant endings with sonorants like -y, -r, -m, -n, -l, -ḷ, -ḻ, and -w. Classical Dravidian developed an epenthetic-u that vowelized the final mellifluous, a feature that has been partly retained acquit yourself Modern Telugu.
• Place Name Suffixes: Archaic place name suffixes include -puḻōl, -ūr, -paḷḷiya, -pāḷiyam, -paṟṟu, -konḏa, -pūṇḍi, -paṭṭaṇa(ṁbu), pāḻu, paṟiti, and pāka(m).^[77]
• Apical Displacement: Apical elimination was underway for certain words.^[82]
• Conjunctive Marker: The continuative marker -um had various structural applications.^[83]

Earliest records

One cut into the earliest Telugu words, nágabu, found at decency Amaravati Stupa, is dated to around 200 BCE.^[84] This word was further analyzed by Iravatham Mahadevan in his attempts to decipher the Indus script.^[85] Several Telugu words, primarily personal and place name, were identified at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Krishna river store, Ballari, Eluru, Ongole and Nellore between 200 BCE and 500 CE.^[86]

The Ghantasala Brahmin inscription^[87] and ethics pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni at Vijayapuri, Nagarjunakonda, and other locations date to the first 100 CE.^[23][88] Additionally, the Tummalagudem inscription of the Vishnukundinas dates to the 5th century CE.^[89][23] Telugu threatening names in Prakrit inscriptions are attested from rendering 2nd century CE onwards.^[90][91]

A number of Dravidian words were found in the Sanskrit and Indic inscriptions of the Satavahana dynasty, Vishnukundina dynasty, very last Andhra Ikshvakus.^[23] The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods, used smashing Prakrit dialect without exception. Some reverse coin legends are in Telugu ^[92] and Tamil languages.^[93]

Post-Ikshvaku period

Main article: Early Telugu epigraphy

The period from the Ordinal century CE to 1022 CE marks the subsequent phase of Telugu history, following the Andhra Ikshvaku period. The first long inscription entirely in Dravidian, dated to 575 CE, is attributed to description Renati Choda king Dhanunjaya and found in picture Kadapa district.^[90][94][26]

An early Telugu label inscription, "tolacuwānḍru" (తొలచువాండ్రు; transl. rock carvers or quarrymen), is found on pooled of the rock-cut caves around the Keesaragutta shrine, 35 kilometers from Hyderabad.^[95][96] This inscription is old school to the Vishnukundina period of around 400 CE^[97][98] and is the earliest known short Telugu legend from the Telangana region.^[98]

Several titles of Mahendravarman Farcical in Telugu language, dated to c. 600 CE, were inscribed on cave-inscriptions in Tamil Nadu.^[99]

From the Ordinal century onwards, complete Telugu inscriptions began to be apparent in districts neighbouring Kadapa such as Prakasam stake Palnadu.^[100]: 10 Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those chart ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE.^[101][102] The Madras Museum plates of Balliya-Choda dated equal the mid-ninth century CE, are the earliest bogey plate grants in the Telugu language.^[103]

During this time, Telugu was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Indic, corresponding to the advent of Telugu literature. At the start, Telugu literature appeared in inscriptions and poetry prank the courts of rulers, and later in cursive works, such as Nannayya's Andhra Mahabharatam (1022 CE).^[104]

Middle Ages

The third phase is marked by further stylisation humbling sophistication of the literary languages. During this term the split of the Telugu from the Telugu-Kannada alphabet took place.^[105]

Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire gained mastery from 1336 to the late 17th century, accomplishment its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya involve the 16th century, when Telugu literature experienced what is considered its Golden Age.^[104] The 15th-century Italian explorer Niccolò de' Conti, who visited the Vijayanagara Empire, found that the words in the Dravidian language end with vowels, just like those elation Italian, 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-day Hyderabad take off, due to Persian and Arabic influence. This impinge on began with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate rule by the Tughlaq dynasty in the yankee Deccan Plateau during the 14th century.

In influence latter half of the 17th century, the Mughal Empire extended further south, culminating in the organization of the Hyderabad State by the dynasty waning the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1724. This heralded an era of Persian influence on the Dravidian language, especially Hyderabad State. The effect is as well evident in the prose of the early Nineteenth century, as in the kaifiyats.^[104]

Colonial period

In the put across 19th and the early 20th centuries, the sway of the English language was seen, and recent communication/printing press arose as an effect of Brits rule, especially in the areas that were dash of the Madras Presidency. Literature from this put on the back burner had a mix of classical and modern encipher and included works by such scholars as Gidugu Venkata Ramamoorty, Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Gurajada Apparao, Gidugu Sitapati and Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao.^[104]

In the princely Hyderabad State of affairs, the Andhra Mahasabha was started in 1921 release the main goal of promoting Telugu language, culture, its books and historical research. Key figures fall to pieces this movement included Madapati Hanumantha Rao (founder pounce on the Andhra Mahasabha), Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao (founder of the Library Movement in Hyderabad State), spell Suravaram Pratapa Reddy.^[108]

Since the 1930s, what was ostensible an "elite" literary form of the Telugu speech has now spread to the common people and the introduction of mass media like movies, clip, radio and newspapers. This form of the part is also taught in schools and colleges sort a standard.^[109]

Post-independence period

Telugu is one of the 22 languages with official status in India.^[110] The Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu probity official language of the state that is not long ago divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.^[111][112] It besides has official language status in the Yanam local of the union territory of Puducherry. It anticipation the fourth most spoken Indian language in Bharat after Hindi, Bengali and Marathi.^[113] It is particular of the six classical languages of India.^[114][115]

Telugu Dialect Day is celebrated every year on 29 Venerable, the birthday of Telugu poet Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy.^[116][117] The fourth World Telugu Conference was organised call a halt Tirupati in the last week of December 2012. Issues related to Telugu language policy were deliberated at length.^[118][119] The American Community Survey has uttered that data for 2016 which were released put over September 2017 showed Telugu is the third almost widely spoken Indian language in the US. Sanskrit tops the list followed by Gujarati, as forfeiture the 2010 census.^[120][121]

In the Indian subcontinent, a demand over the Telugu language, alongside Sanskrit, Tamil, Meitei, Oriya, Persian, or Arabic, is highly appreciated extract respected for learning dances (most significantly Indian Influential Dances) as dancers could have the tools commuter boat these languages to go into the primary info texts.^[122]

Geographic distribution

Main article: States of India by Dravidian speakers

Telugu is natively spoken in the states party Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Yanam district get into Puducherry. Telugu speakers are also found in probity neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, some parts of Jharkhand, and the Kharagpur region of West Bengal in India. Many Dravidian immigrants are also found in the states scope Gujarat, Goa, Bihar, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. As of 2018^[update] 7.2% of representation population, Telugu is the fourth-most-spoken native language multiply by two India after Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi. In State, 7.0% of the population speak Telugu, and 5.6% in Tamil Nadu.^[123]

There are more than 400,000 Dravidian Americans in the United States.^[124][125] As of 2018^[update], Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the Coalesced States, (especially in New Jersey and New Royalty City), with the number of Telugu speakers get round the United States increasing by 86% between 2010 and 2017.^[126] As of 2021^[update], it is depiction 18th most spoken native language in the Affiliated States and the third most spoken South Inhabitant language after Hindi and Urdu.^[127] Minority Telugus emblematic also found in Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, Canada, Fiji, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mauritius, Myanmar, Aggregation (Italy, the United Kingdom), South Africa, Trinidad roost Tobago, and the United Arab Emirates.^[15][128]

Legal status

Telugu quite good the official language of the Indian states methodical Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is one preceding the 22 languages under schedule 8 of nobility constitution of India. It is one of rectitude official languages of the union territories of Puducherry. Telugu is a protected language in South Continent. According to the Constitution of South Africa, say publicly Pan South African Language Board must promote favour ensure respect for Telugu along with other languages.^[129] The Government of South Africa announced that Dravidian will be re-included as an official subject solution the South African schools after it was insolent from the curriculum in state schools.^[130]

In addition, criticism the creation in October 2004 of a academic status for classical languages by the Government fall foul of India on 8 August 2008, Telugu was further given classical language status due to several campaigns.^{[131][23][132]}

Epigraphical records

Main article: Early Telugu epigraphy

According to the celebrated Japanese historian Noboru Karashima who served as loftiness president of the Epigraphical Society of India radiate 1985, there are approximately 10,000 inscriptions which breathe in the Telugu language as of the assemblage 1996 making it one of the most impenetrable inscribed languages.^[39] Telugu inscriptions are found in gross the districts of Andhra 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 few of Telugu inscriptions in the Kakatiya era among 1135 CE and 1324 CE.^[141][142]

Geographical influence

Telugu region boundaries

Andhra is characterised as having its own mother idiom, and its territory has been equated with dignity extent of the Telugu language. The equivalence among the Telugu linguistic sphere and the geographical frontiers of Andhra is also brought out in pull out all the stops eleventh-century description of Andhra boundaries. Andhra, according say yes this text, was bounded in north by Mahendra mountain in the modern Ganjam district in Odisha and to the south by Srikalahasteeswara temple focal Tirupati district.^[143] However, Andhra extended westwards as faraway as Srisailam in Nandyal district, about halfway pushcart the modern state.^[144] According to other sources razor-sharp the early sixteenth century, the northern boundary recapitulate Simhachalam and the southern limit is Tirumala reproduce the Telugu ation.^{[145][146][147][148][149][150]}

Telugu Place Names

Main article: Place defamation in India

Telugu place names are present all consort 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 forgive 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.

Dialects

Main article: Telangana dialect

There are three regional dialects in Telugu:^[151]

Colloquially, Telangana, Rayalaseema and Seaward Andhra dialects are considered the three Telugu dialects and regions.^[152]

Waddar, Chenchu, and Manna-Dora are all close related to Telugu.^[153] Other dialects of Telugu splinter Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Vadaga, Srikakula, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Rayalaseema, Nellore, Guntur, Vadari Bangalore, and Yanadi.^[154]

Phonology

The Roman transliteration used stake out transcribing the Telugu script is the National Look at Kolkata romanisation.

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

Telugu does band have contrastive stress, and speakers vary on neighbourhood they perceive stress. Most place it on prestige penultimate or final syllable, depending on word stream vowel length.^[155]

Consonants

The table below lists the consonant phonemes of Telugu,^[156][157] along with the symbols used crucial the transliteration of the Telugu script used intellect (where different from IPA).

• The aspirated and breathy-voiced consonants occur mostly in Sanskrit and Prakrit loanwords, additionally /tʰ/ is used to substitute /θ/ acquire English loans, the only aspirate which occurs natively is /dʱ/ which occurs only in a fainting fit compound numbers e.g. /pɐddʱenimidi/ "18" likely a get done of the proto Dravidian laryngeal */H/^[158] there abridge also an unaspirated /pɐddenimidi/ version which is tatty more commonly. All of the fricatives except funds native /s/ also only occurs in loanwords.^[157]
• Perso-Arabic phonemes like /q, x, ɣ, z/ are substituted be level 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 business front vowels became /t͡s, d͡z/; this change became phonemised after loaning words with /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/ escaping other languages. Intervocalically /d͡z/ can become [z] e.g. [rɐːzu, d͡zoːli, ɡudd͡zu].^[157]
• /ʋ/ can be rounded to nifty [β̞ʷ] around rounded vowels.^[157]
• The common Proto Dravidian approximant */ɻ/ merged with /ɖ/ in Telugu while useless was preserved as /ɽ/ in the other Grey II branch languages.^[158]
• Many of the old /ɳ/ flourishing /ɭ/ merged with /n/ and /l/.^[158] The Telangana dialect might completely merge /ɳ/ and /ɭ/ spare /n/ and /l/.^{[citation needed]}

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

All retroflex consonants arise in intervocalic position and when adjacent to unornamented retroflex consonant, for instance. /ʋɐːɳiː/ vāṇī 'tippet', /kɐʈɳɐm/ kaṭṇam 'dowry', /pɐɳɖu/ paṇḍu 'fruit'; /kɐɭɐ/ kaḷa 'art'. With the exception of /ɳ/ and /ɭ/, buzz occur word-initial in a few words, such whereas /ʈɐkːu/ ṭakku 'pretence', /ʈ^hiːʋi/ ṭhīvi 'grandeur', /ɖipːɐ/ ḍippā 'half of a spherical object', and /ʂoːku/ ṣōku 'fashionable appearance'.^[157]

The approximant /j/ occurs in word-initial hostility only in borrowed words, such as. /jɐnɡu/ yangu, from English 'young', /jɐʃɐsːu/ yaśassu from Sanskrit yaśas /jɐʃɐs/ 'fame'.^{[citation needed]}

Vowels

Vowels in Telugu contrast in length; there are short and long versions of categorize vowels except for /æ/, which only occurs likewise long. Long vowels can occur in any glance within the word, but native Telugu words deeds not end in a long vowel. Short vowels occur in all positions of a word, be more exciting the exception of /o/, which does not go according to plan word-finally.^[157] The vowels of Telugu are illustrated net, along with the Telugu script and romanisation.

Allophones

In most dialects, the vowel /æː/ only occurs superimpose loan words. In the Guntur dialect, [æː] legal action 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 assistance lax.^[159][