Telugu is the official language in the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also spoken by a significant population in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Odisha. There are about 74 million native speakers of Telugu worldwide. -Telugu belongs to the Dravidian family of languages that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.
The script used for writing Telugu is called Telugu Script or Kannada-Telugu Script. It evolved from Brahmi Script during the 5th century AD. The Telugu vocabulary has been heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit.
Telugu grammar is similar to that of other Dravidian languages. Telugu has 3 genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), 2 numbers (singular and plural), and 5 cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and evocative t). There are 4enses (present, past, future, and conditional), 3 aspects (perfective, imperfection, and progressive), and 2 moods (indicative and subjunctive).
The Telugu sound system is characterized by a large number of phonemes (distinctive sounds). There are 60 phonemes in the language which are grouped into 3 categories: vowels (12), consonants (36), and semivowels (12).
Telugu has a rich literary tradition dating back to the 11th century AD. The first Telugu book, Veyi naamatulu, was written by Nannaya Bhatta in the 11th century. Telugu literature reached its peak during the 16th and 17th centuries with poets like Sri Krishna Deva Rayalu and Tyagaraja producing works of great beauty and refinement.
The Telugu film industry is one of the largest in India. It produces about 200 films a year. Many of these are commercial successes. Telugu is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is also one of the 18 recognized languages of the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
The Telugu Academy was set up in the state of Andhra Pradesh in 1955 for the promotion and development of the language. There are a number of Telugu associations and organizations that are working to promote the language. These include the Telugu Sahitya Parishad, the Andhra Pradesh Telugu Akademi, and the Central Institute of Telugu.
The Government of India has also taken several measures to promote Telugu. These include setting up a separate TV channel for the language, establishing a Chair for Telugu Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and providing financial assistance for the publication of Telugu books.
A number of schools and colleges offer Telugu as a subject. There are also a number of Telugu newspapers and magazines that are published in various parts of the country. The Internet has also played a significant role in promoting Telugu. There are many websites and blogs that provide information about the language and iliterature.
Telugu is one of the fastest-growing languages in the world. It is estimated that by 2025, there will be about 250 million Telugu speakers worldwide. This makes it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.