Telugu తెలుగు
Spoken in:	India
Region:	Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Total speakers:	100 million native, 120 million total (including second language speakers)
Ranking:	13 (native)
Language family:	Dravidian  South-Central   Telugu
Writing system:	Telugu script
Official status
Official language in:	India
Regulated by:	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	te
ISO 639-2:	tel
ISO 639-3:	tel
This page contains Indic text. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ pronounced) is a state in the southern part of India Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India. Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a Union territory of India. Informally the territory's name is often abbreviated to A & N Islands, or ANI This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada The South-Central Dravidian languages comprise some languages spoken in that part of India. A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. Telugu script, an Abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts is used to write Telugu language, a Dravidian Language found in the Southern India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages The Brahmic family is a family of syllabaries (writing systems used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central Asia and East Asia, Without rendering support you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. More...

Telugu (pronounced [ˈtɛləgu] in English; in Telugu: తెలుగు [ˈt̪elʊgʊ]) is a Dravidian language (South-Central Dravidian languages) mostly spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada The South-Central Dravidian languages comprise some languages spoken in that part of India. Including non-native speakers it is the most spoken Dravidian language,^[1] in India and the third most spoken language in the Indian sub-continent after Hindi,Bengali, and one of the twenty-two official languages of the Republic of India. The Constitution of India envisages Hindi as the primary official language to be used by the Union Government, with English as the subsidiary official language ^[2] It is spoken among a diaspora population in the USA, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Ireland, Fiji, Réunion, Trinidad and the UK among other countries around the world. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of Trinidad ( Spanish: " Trinity " is the largest and most populous of the two major islands and The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Extant works in Carnatic music, particularly the compositions of the present era (post 15th century), were written mostly in the then, highly-sanskritized Telugu. Carnatic music (also spelled Karnatak music or Karnatik music, and originally called Karṇāṭaka sangīta or Karṇāṭaka sangītam in India Telugu is one of the top fifteen most widely spoken languages in the world as well as the most spoken language within the Dravidian family. It is widely spoken outside of Andhra Pradesh in cities of neighboring states such as Bangalore and Chennai. Telugu is the most spoken Dravidian language in the world.

History

Origins

Telugu originated from the Proto-Dravidian language, belonging to the south-central family. Proto-Dravidian is the Proto-language of the Dravidian languages. Telugu belongs to the South-central Dravidian language subfamily, whose members originated from the Proto-Dravidian spoken in the central part of the Deccan plateau. In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Other languages of the South-Central group include the rustic Gondi, Konda, Kui and Kuvi languages. Inscriptions containing telugu words dated back to 400 CE were discovered at Nandyal in Kurnool district. English translation of one inscription reads: “Gift of the slab by venerable Midikilayakha. ^[3]

Etymology

The etymology of Telugu is not known for certain. It is explained as being derived from trilinga, as in Trilinga Desa, "the country of the three lingas". According to a Hindu legend, Trilinga Desa is the land in between three Shiva temples namely Kalahasthi, Srisailam and Draksharamam. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva Sri Kalahasthi ( Telugu: శ్రీ కాళహస్తి Tamil: திரு காலஹஸ்தி is a temple town in the state of Andhra Pradesh WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details -->Srisailam is a holy town and Mandal situated in Nallamala hills of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, Draksharama is one of the Pancharama Kshetras in South India. Trilinga Desa forms the traditional boundaries of the Telugu region. Other forms of the word, such as Telunga, Telinga, Telangana and Tenunga were also seen. Telangana or Telingana ( Telugu: తెలంగాణ is a region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also said that Trilinga, in the form "Triliggon" occurs in Ptolemy as the name of a locality to the east of the Ganga river. Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca The Ganges (ˈgænʤiːz also Ganga, Devanāgarī: hi गंगा in most Indian languages) is the major river in the Indian subcontinent Other scholars compare Trilinga with other local names mentioned by Pliny, such as Bolingae, Maccocalingae, and Modogalingam. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author The latter name is given as that of an island in the Ganges. A. D. Campbell, in the introduction to his Telugu grammar, suggested that Modogalingam may be explained as a Telugu translation of Trilingam, and compared the first part of the word modoga, with mUDuga, a poetical form for Telugu mUDu, three. Bishop Caldwell, on the other hand, explained Modogalingam as representing a Telugu mUDugalingam, the three Kalingas, a local name which occurs in Sanskrit inscriptions and one of the Puranas. Kalinga occurs in the Ashoka Inscriptions, and in the form Kling, it has become, in the Malay country, the common word for the people of Continental India. Kalinga was a Kingdom in central-eastern India, which comprised most of the modern state of Orissa, as well as some northern areas of the bordering state Malays (Melayu are an Ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast

According to K. L. Ranjanam, the word is derived from talaing, who were chiefs who conquered the Andhra region. M. R. Shastri is of the opinion that it is from telunga, an amalgamation of the Gondi words telu, meaning "white", and the pluralization -unga, probably referring to white or fair-skinned people. According to G. J. Somayaji, ten- refers to 'south' in Proto-Dravidian, and the word could be derived from tenungu meaning "people of the South".

The ancient name for telugu land seems to be telinga/telanga desa. It seems probable that the base of this word is teli, and that -nga, or gu is the common Dravidian formative element. A base teli occurs in Telugu teli, bright; teliyuTa, to perceive, etc. However, this etymology is contested. Telugu pandits commonly state Tenugu to be the proper form of the word, and explain this as the ‘mellifluous language’ from tene or honey. A paṇḍit or pundit ( Devanagari: पण्डित is a scholar a teacher particularly one skilled in Sanskrit and Hindu Law, Religion The word Kalinga might be derived from the same base as Telugu kaluguTa, to live to exist, and would then simply mean ‘human. ’

Stages

It is possible to broadly define four stages in the linguistic history of the Telugu language:

400 CE - 500 CE

The discovery of a Brahmi label inscription reading Thambhaya Dhaanam is engraved on the soap stone reliquary datable to 2nd century BCE on Paleographical ground proves the fact that Telugu language predates the known conception in Andhra Pradesh. Primary sources are Prakrit/Sanskrit inscriptions found in the region, in which Telugu places and personal names are found. Prakrit (also transliterated as Pracrit) ( Sanskrit: prākṛta प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति according to one Epigraphy (ἐπιγραφολογία from Greek ἐπιγραφή — "inscription" is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs engraved From this we know that the language of the people was Telugu, while the rulers, who were of the Satavahana dynasty, spoke Prakrit. The Sātavāhanas ( Marathi: सातवाहन Telugu:శాతవాహనులు were a Dynasty which ruled from Junnar ( ^[4] Telugu words appear in the Maharashtri Prakrit anthology of poems (the Gathasaptashathi) collected by the first century BCE Satavahana King Hala. Prakrit (also transliterated as Pracrit) ( Sanskrit: prākṛta प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति according to one Telugu speakers were probably the oldest peoples inhabiting the land between the Krishna and Godavari rivers. This article is about an Indian river For other meanings of this river names see Krishna (disambiguation and Krishnaveni. This article is about the river Godavari in India. For other uses see Godavari (disambiguation The Godavari ( Marathi language:गोदावरी

500 CE - 1100 CE

The first inscription that is entirely in Telugu corresponds to the second phase of Telugu history. This inscription dated 575 CE was found in the Kadapa and Kurnool district region and is attributed to the Renati Cholas. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kadapa (కడప formerly Cuddapah, is a city in the south-central part of Andhra Pradesh, WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Kurnool is a city in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh state of southern India Many Telugu Choda kingdoms ruled over many regions including the cities on the banks of Krishna River in the period between the seventh and the thirteenth century They broke with the prevailing fashion of using Sanskrit and introduced the tradition of writing royal proclamations in the local language. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical During the next fifty years, Telugu inscriptions appeared in the neighboring Anantapuram and all the surrounding regions. The first available Telugu inscription in the coastal Andhra Pradesh comes from about 633 CE. Around the same time, the Chalukya kings of Telangana also started using Telugu for inscriptions. Telugu was most exposed to the influence of Sanskrit, as opposed to Prakrit, during this period. This period mainly corresponded to the advent of literature in Telugu. This literature was initially found in inscriptions and poetry in the courts of the rulers, and later in written works such as Nannayya's Mahabharatam (1022 CE). Nannayya Bhattaraka (నన్నయ in Telugu) (c 11th century AD is the earliest known Telugu author and the author of the first third of the Andhra Mahabharatamu ^[4] During the time of Nannayya, the literary language diverged from the popular language. This was also a period of phonetic changes in the spoken language.

1100 CE - 1400 CE

The third phase is marked by further stylization and sophistication of the literary language. Ketana (thirteenth century) in fact prohibited the use of spoken words in poetic works. ^[4] This period also saw the beginning of Muslim rule in the Telangana region. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Telangana or Telingana ( Telugu: తెలంగాణ is a region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

During this period the separation of Telugu script from the common Telugu-Kannada script took place. Telugu script, an Abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts is used to write Telugu language, a Dravidian Language found in the Southern Between 1100 CE - 1400 CE Telugu script separated from the common Telugu-Kannada script. Tikkana wrote his works in this script. Tikkana (తిక్కన్న (1205-1288 was born into a family of Shaivite Brahmin litterateurs during the Golden Age of Kakatiya dynasty.

1400 CE - 1900 CE

During the fourth phase, Telugu underwent a great deal of change (as did other Indian languages), progressing from medieval to modern. The language of the Telangana region started to split into a distinct dialect due to Muslim influence: Sultanate rule under the Tughlaq dynasty had been established earlier in the northern Deccan during the fourteenth century. Sultan (سلطان is an Islamic title with several historical meanings The Tughlaq Dynasty ( Urdu: تغلق) of north India started in 1321 in Delhi when Ghazi Tughlaq assumed the throne under the South of the Godavari river (Rayalaseema region), however, the Vijayanagara empire gained dominance from 1336 till the late 1600s, reaching its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya in the sixteenth century, when Telugu literature experienced what is considered to be its golden age. This article is about the river Godavari in India. For other uses see Godavari (disambiguation The Godavari ( Marathi language:गोदावरी Rayalaseema (రాయలసీమis a geographic region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The Vijayanagara Empire ( Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ Telugu: విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము was a South Sri Krishnadevaraya ( Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಕೃಷ್ಣದೇವರಾಯ Telugu:శ్రీకృష్ణదేవరాయ (1509-1529 CE was the most famous The term Golden age is best known from Greek mythology and legend but can also be found in other ancient cultures (see below ^[4]Padakavithapithamaha, Annamayya, contributed many atcha (pristine) Telugu Padaalu to this great language. Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya (శ్రీ తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య (1408-1503 the mystic saint composer In the latter half of the seventeenth century, Muslim rule extended further south, culminating in the establishment of the princely state of Hyderabad by the Asaf Jah dynasty in 1724. Hyderābād and Berar (హైదరాబాదు حیدر آباد under the Nizams was the largest Princely state in the erstwhile Indian Empire Nizam ( Urdu: نظام‌) a shortened version of Nizam-ul-Mulk ( Urdu: نظام‌الملک) meaning Administrator of the Realm, was This heralded an era of Persian/Arabic influence on the Telugu language, especially among the people of Hyderabad. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Hyderābād and Berar (హైదరాబాదు حیدر آباد under the Nizams was the largest Princely state in the erstwhile Indian Empire The effect is also felt in the prose of the early 19th century, as in the Kaifiyats. ^[4]

1900 CE to date

The period of the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries saw the influence of the English language and modern communication/printing press as an effect of the British rule, especially in the areas that were part of the Madras Presidency. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British Literature from this time had a mix of classical and modern traditions and included works by scholars like Kandukuri Viresalingam and Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao. ^[4]

Since the 1940s, what was considered an elite literary form of the Telugu language has now spread to the common people with the introduction of mass media like television, radio and newspapers. "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. This form of the language is also taught in schools as a standard. In the current decade the Telugu language, like other Indian languages, has undergone globalization due to the increasing settlement of Telugu-speaking people abroad. Globalization (or globalisation) in its literal sense is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones Modern Telugu movies, although still retaining their dramatic quality, are linguistically separate from post-Independence films. The term " Indian independence movement " is diffuse incorporating various national and regional campaigns agitations and efforts of both Nonviolent and Militant

Geographic distribution

Telugu is mainly spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh and in the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, and Chhattisgarh in India. Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India. Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ pronounced) is a state in the southern part of India Maharashtra ( Marathi: mahārāṣṭra, IPA) is a state located on the western coast of India. Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. Chhattisgarh ( Chhattisgarhi / Hindi: छत्तीसगढ़ tʃʰət̪t̪iːsgəɽʰ, a state in central India, formed when the sixteen It is also spoken in Bahrain, Fiji, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom where there is a considerable Telugu diaspora. The Kingdom of Bahrain (in مملكة البحرين,, literally Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Island country in the Persian Gulf Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic Telugu is the second largest spoken language in the country after Hindi .

Official status

Telugu is one of the 22 official languages of India. The Constitution of India envisages Hindi as the primary official language to be used by the Union Government, with English as the subsidiary official language It was declared the official language of Andhra Pradesh when the state was formed in October 1953 on linguistic basis. ^[5]

Telugu also has official language status in the Yanam District of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India. Puducherry (formerly; புதுச்சேரி or பாண்டிச்சேரி పాండిచెర్రి പുതുശ്ശേരി Pondichéry is a

Dialects

Waddar,^[6] Chenchu,^[7] Savara,^[8] and Manna-Dora^[9] are all closely related to Telugu. Chenchu language is a Dravidian language which belongs to the Telugu branch of its South-Central family The Savara language is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken in eastern India. ^[10] Dialects of Telugu are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Telangana, Telugu, Vadaga, Srikakula, Vishakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Rayalseema, Nellore,prakasam Guntur, Vadari and Yanadi (Yenadi). ^[11]

In Tamil Nadu the Telugu dialect is classified into Salem, Coimbatore, and Chennai Telugu dialects. Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India. It is also widely spoken in Virudhunagar, Tuticorin, Madurai and Thanjavur districts.

Along with the most standard forms of Indian languages like Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi, Standard Telugu is often called a Shuddha Bhaasha ("pure language"). Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī ? Marathi (mr मराठी Marāṭhī) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of what is considered western India. Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is

Sounds

Nineteenth-century Englishmen called Telugu the Italian of the East as all native words in Telugu end with a vowel sound, but it is believed that Italian explorer Niccolò Da Conti coined the phrase in the fifteenth century. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar In Phonetics, a vowel is a Sound in spoken Language, such as English ah! or oh!, pronounced with an open Vocal tract Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Niccolò Da Conti (also Nicolò de' Conti) (1395&ndash1469 was a Venetian merchant and explorer born in Chioggia, who traveled to India and

A great number of the words in Telugu end in the sound 'oo', giving the language a very sing-song like sound.

Achulu(Vowels)

Like other major Dravidian languages, the Telugu vowel set adds short /e/ and /o/ in addition to the long /eː/ and /oː/ of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family

The rhotics ఋ and ౠ (originally /r/ and /rː/), like the liquids ఌ and ౡ (originally /l/ and /lː/) have now turned into the syllables /ru/, /ruː/, /lu/, /luː/ respectively. They are fast going out of currency and are no longer included in the standard Telugu school textbooks issued by the government of Andhra Pradesh, which now prefers the actual consonants with a /u/ appended (e. g. /ruʃɪ/ (monk) used to be written ఋషి but nowadays, రుషి is preferred).

Hallulu (Consonants)

క ఖ గ ఘ ఙ
చ ఛ జ ఝ ఞ
ట ఠ డ ఢ ణ
త థ ద ధ న
ప ఫ బ భ మ
య ర ల వ శ ష స హ ళ క్ష ఱThe consonants correspond almost one-to-one to the set in Sanskrit, with two exceptions. One is the historical form of /r/ఱ which is now again being phased out by the current form ర. (e. g. /gurːam/ (horse) was written గుఱ్ఱం but is now written గుర్రం). The other is the retroflex lateral ళ /ɭ/.

The table below indicates the articulation of consonants in Telugu.

Phonology

Though the Telugu consonant set lists aspirated consonants (both voiced and unvoiced), they're reserved mostly for transcribing Sanskrit borrowings. Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth In Phonetics, retroflex consonants are Consonant sounds used in some Languages (They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants In Linguistics, a dental consonant or dental is a Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as /t/ /d/ /n/ and In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips ( bilabial articulation or with the lower lip and the upper teeth ( labiodental articulation A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the Liquid is one of the principal States of matter. A liquid is a Fluid that has the particles loose and can freely form a distinct surface at the boundaries of Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed Liquid is one of the principal States of matter. A liquid is a Fluid that has the particles loose and can freely form a distinct surface at the boundaries of Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Rhotic consonants, or "R"-like sounds are non-lateral Liquid consonants This class of sounds is difficult to characterise phonetically though most of them share A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Visarga ( visarga) is a Sanskrit word meaning "sending forth discharge" A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together To most native speakers, the aspirated and unaspirated consonants are practically allophonic (like in Tamil). Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. The distinction is made however, rather strictly, in written or literary Telugu.

Grammar

In Telugu, Karta కర్త (nominative case or the doer), Karma కర్మ (object of the verb) and Kriya క్రియ (action or the verb) follow a sequence. Telugu also has the Vibhakthi విభక్తి (preposition) tradition.

Inflection

Telugu is often considered an agglutinative language, where certain syllables are added to the end of a noun in order to denote its case:

These agglutinations apply to all nouns generally in the singular and plural. The instrumental case (also called the eighth case) is a Grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the In Linguistics, ablative case ( abbreviated ABL) is a name given to cases in various languages whose common characteristic In Grammar, the genitive case or possessive case (also called the second case) is the case that marks a Noun as modifying another

Here is how other cases are manifested in Telugu:

Location

Motion

Morphosyntactic alignment

Relation

Polyagglutination

While the examples given above are single agglutinations, Telugu allows for polyagglutination, the unique feature of being able to add multiple suffixes to words to denote more complex features:

For example, one can affix both "నుంచి; nunchi - from" and "లో; lo - in" to a noun to denote from within. In Finno-Ugric languages, such as Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian, the adessive case (from Latin adesse "to be present" Inessive case (from Latin inesse "to be in or at" is a locative Grammatical case. Locative (also called the seventh case) is a Grammatical case which indicates a location The Superessive case is a grammatical Declension indicating location on top of something or on the surface of something Allative case ( abbreviated ALL, from Latin allāt-, afferre "to bring to" is a type of the locative The delative case (from Latin deferre "to bear or bring away or down" in the Hungarian language can originally express the movement from the surface of See Elative for disambiguation Elative (from Latin efferre "to bring or carry out" is a locative case with the basic Illative case in the Finno-Ugric languages Illative (from Latin illatus "brought in" is in the Finnish language, Estonian language The sublative case can express different situations In Hungarian it expresses the destination of the movement originally to the surface of something (e In morphology, the terminative case is a case to tell where something ends (i An oblique case (casus generalis in Linguistics is a Noun case of Synthetic languages that is used generally when a Noun is the object The benefactive case ( abbreviated BEN) is a case used where English would use "for" "for the benefit of" The causal or causative case (abbreviated CAUS) is a Grammatical case that indicates that the marked noun is the cause or reason for something The comitative case, also known as the associative case, is a Grammatical case that denotes companionship and is used where English would use "in company with" The possessive case of a language is a Grammatical case used to indicate a relationship of possession. An example of this: "రాములోనుంచి; ramuloninchi - from within Ramu"

Here is an example of a triple agglutination: "వాటిమధ్యలోనుంచి; vāṭimadʰyalōninchi - from in between them"

Vowel harmony

Like in Turkish, Hungarian and Finnish, Telugu words have vowels in inflectional suffixes harmonised with the vowels of the preceding syllable. Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside

Inclusive and exclusive pronouns

Telugu exhibits one of the rare features that Dravidian languages share with few others: the inclusive and exclusive we. The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada In Linguistics, clusivity is a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person Pronouns and Verbal morphology, The bifurcation of the First Person Plural pronoun (we in English) into inclusive (మనము; manamu) and exclusive (మేము; mēmu) versions can also be found in Tamil and Malayalam, although it is not used in modern Kannada. Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Not to be confused with the Malay language. Malayalam (മലയാളം malayāḷaṁ) is a Dravidian language used Kannada (kn [[wiktಕನ್ನಡ ಕನ್ನಡ]] Kannaḍa) is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state

Gender

Telugu pronouns follow the systems for gender and respect also found in other Indian languages. In Linguistics and Grammar, a pronoun is a Pro-form that substitutes for a (including a noun phrase consisting of a single Noun) with or Gender comprises a range of differences between men and women extending from the biological to the social The second person plural మీరు /miːru/ is used in addressing someone with respect, and there are also respectful third personal pronouns (ఆయన /ɑːjana/ m. and ఆవిడ /ɑːvɪɽa/ f. ) pertaining to both genders. A specialty of the Telugu language, however, is that the third person non-respectful feminine (అది /ad̪ɪ/) is used to refer to animals and objects, and there is no special neuter gender that is used.

Vocabulary

Like all Dravidian languages, Telugu has a base of words which are essentially Dravidian in origin. The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 73 languages (including the four literary languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada Words that describe objects/actions associated with common or everyday life: like తల; tala (head), పులి; puli (tiger), ఊరు; ūru (town/city) have cognates in other Dravidian languages and are indigenous to the Dravidian language family.

However, Telugu is also largely Sanskritized, that is, it has a wide variety of words of Sanskrit/Prakrit origin. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Prakrit (also transliterated as Pracrit) ( Sanskrit: prākṛta प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति according to one The Indo-Aryan influence can be attributed historically to the rule of the Satavahana kings, who used Prakrit as the official language of courts and government, and to the influence of literary Sanskrit during the 11th - 14th centuries CE. The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family The Sātavāhanas ( Marathi: सातवाहन Telugu:శాతవాహనులు were a Dynasty which ruled from Junnar ( Today, Telugu is generally considered the Dravidian language with the most Indo-Aryan influence.

The vocabulary of Telugu especially in the Hyderabad region has a trove of Persian-Arabic borrowings, which have been modified to fit Telugu phonology. Hyderābād and Berar (హైదరాబాదు حیدر آباد under the Nizams was the largest Princely state in the erstwhile Indian Empire Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language This was due to centuries of Muslim rule in these regions: the erstwhile kingdoms of Golkonda and Hyderabad. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Golkonda (or Golconda) Telugu గోల్కొండ, a ruined city of south-central India is situated west of Hyderabad, capital of ancient Hyderabad (e. g. కబురు, /kaburu/ for Urdu /xabar/, خبر or జవాబు, /ɟavɑːbu/ for Urdu /ɟawɑːb/, جواب)

Modern Telugu vocabulary can be said to constitute a diglossia, because the formal, standardized version of the language, heavily influenced by Sanskrit, is taught in schools and used by the government and Hindu religious institutions. Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised In Linguistics, diglossia is a situation where in a given society there are two (often closely-related languages one of high prestige, which is generally used A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical However, everyday Telugu varies depending upon region and social status. There is a large and growing middle class whose Telugu is substantially interspersed with English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Popular Telugu, especially in urban Hyderabad, spoken by the masses and seen in movies that are directed towards the masses, includes both English and Hindi/Urdu influences. Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is Lately,this heavy amalgamation of non-native languages with spoken telugu has raised concerns.

Writing system

The name Telugu written in the Telugu script

Main article: Telugu script

The earliest evidence for Brahmi script in South India comes from Bhattiprolu in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh ^[13]. Telugu script, an Abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts is used to write Telugu language, a Dravidian Language found in the Southern WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Bhattiprolu is a small Village in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Guntur ( Telugu: గుంటూరు Urdu: گنٹور, Hindi: गुंटूर Bhattiprolu was a great centre of Buddhism since 4th century BCE (Pre-Mauryan time) from where Buddhism spread to east Asia. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Bhattiprolu is a small Village in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices A variant of Asokan Brahmi script, the progenitor of Old Telugu script, was found on the Buddha’s relic casket. ^[14] The famous Muslim historian and scholar of 10th century, Al-Biruni called Telugu language and script as 'Andhri'. ^[15]

Telugu script is written from left to right and consists of sequences of simple and/or complex characters. The script is syllabic in nature - the basic units of writing are syllables. Since the number of possible syllables is very large, syllables are composed of more basic units such as vowels (“achchu” or “swar”) and consonants (“hallu” or “vyanjan”). Consonants in consonant clusters take shapes which are very different from the shapes they take elsewhere. Consonants are presumed to be 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 “maatras”. The shapes of vowel “maatras” are also very different from the shapes of the corresponding vowels.

The overall pattern consists of sixty symbols, of which 16 are vowels, three vowel modifiers, and forty-one consonants. Spaces are used between words as word separators.

The sentence ends with either a single bar | (“purna virama”) or a double bar || (“deergha virama”). Traditionally, in handwriting, Telugu words were not separated by spaces. Modern punctuation (commas, semicolon, etc. ) were introduced with the advent of print. ^[16]

There is a set of symbols for numerals, though Arabic numbers are typically used. Most of the positional Base 10 Numeral systems in the world have originated from India, which first developed the concept of positional numerology

Telugu is assigned Unicode codepoints: 0C00-0C7F (3072-3199). In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

Vocabulary examples

Carnatic music

Though Carnatic music has a profound cultural influence on all of the South Indian States and their respective languages, most of the songs (Kirtanas) are in Telugu language. Carnatic music (also spelled Karnatak music or Karnatik music, and originally called Karṇāṭaka sangīta or Karṇāṭaka sangītam in India South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union This is because the existing tradition is to a great extent an outgrowth of the musical life of the principality of Thanjavur in the Kaveri delta. Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after The Kaveri River ( Kannada: ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ Tamil: காவிரி ஆறு also spelled Cauvery in English Thanjavuru was the heart of the Chola dynasty (from the 9th century to the 13th), but in the second quarter of the sixteenth century a Telugu Nayak viceroy (Raghunatha Nayaka) was appointed by the emperor of Vijayanagara, thus establishing a court whose language was Telugu. Telugu people refer to the group of peoples who natively speak the Telugu language. Vijayanagara (ವಿಜಯನಗರ is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. Telugu Nayaka rulers acted as the governors in the present day Tamil Nadu area with headquarters at Thanjavuru (1530-1674 CE) and Madurai(1530-1781 CE). Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India. Madurai After the collapse of Vijayanagar, Thanjavur and Madurai Nayaks became independent and ruled for the next 150 years until they were replaced by Marathas. The Vijayanagara Empire ( Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ Telugu: విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము was a South This was the period when several Telugu families migrated from Andhra and settled down in Thanjavur and Madurai. Most of the great composers of Carnatic music belonged to these families. Carnatic music (also spelled Karnatak music or Karnatik music, and originally called Karṇāṭaka sangīta or Karṇāṭaka sangītam in India Telugu, a language ending with vowels, giving it a mellifluous quality, was also considered suitable for musical expression. Of the trinity of Carnatic music composers, Tyagaraja's and Syama Sastri's compositions were largely in Telugu, while Muttuswami Dikshitar is noted for his Sanskrit texts. Carnatic music (also spelled Karnatak music or Karnatik music, and originally called Karṇāṭaka sangīta or Karṇāṭaka sangītam in India Shyama Shastri ( శ్యామా శాస్త్రిஷ்யாமா ஷாஸ்திரி श्यामा शास्त्रि) ( 1762 - 1827 Tyagaraja is remembered both for his devotion and the bhava of his krithi, a song form consisting of pallavi, (the first section of a song) anupallavi (a rhyming section that follows the pallavi) and charanam (a sung stanza; serves as a refrain for several passages the composition). Thyāgarāja (శ్రీ త్యాగరాజ స్వామి May 4, 1767 - January 6, 1847) was a composer of Carnatic music The texts of his kritis are all, with a few exceptions in Sanskrit, in Telugu (the contemporary language of the court), and this use of a living language, as opposed to Sanskrit, the language of ritual, is in keeping with the bhakti ideal of the immediacy of devotion. Sri Syama Sastri, the oldest of the trinity, was taught Telugu and Sanskrit by his father, who was the pujari (Hindu priest) at the Meenakshi temple in Madurai. Syama Sastri's texts were largely composed in Telugu, widening their popular appeal. Some of his most famous compositions include the nine krithis, Navaratnamaalikā, in praise of the goddess Meenakshi at Madurai, and his eighteen krithi in praise of Kamakshi. As well as composing krithi, he is credited with turning the svarajati, originally used for dance, into a purely musical form.

Literature

Main article: Telugu literature

Telugu literature is generally divided into six periods:

In the earliest period there were only inscriptions from 575 CE onwards. Telugu literature is the Literature of the Telugu people, an ethnic group based in southern India. Nannayya Bhattaraka (నన్నయ in Telugu) (c 11th century AD is the earliest known Telugu author and the author of the first third of the Andhra Mahabharatamu For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Srinatha (1365--1441 was a well known 15th century Telugu Poet who popularised the Prabandha style of composition Nannaya's (1022-1063) translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata into Telugu is the piece of Telugu literature as yet discovered. After the death of Nannaya, there was a kind of social and religious revolution in the Telugu country.

Tikkana (thirteenth century) and Yerrapregada (fourteenth century) continued the translation of the Mahabharata started by Nannaya. Telugu poetry also flourished in this period, especially in the time of Srinatha.

During this period, some Telugu poets translated Sanskrit poems and dramas, while others attempted original narrative poems. The popular Telugu literary form called the Prabandha evolved during this period. Srinatha (1365-1441) was the foremost poet, who popularised this style of composition (a story in verse having a tight metrical scheme). Srinatha's "Sringara Naishadham" is particularly well-known.

The Ramayana poets may also be referred in this context. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki The earliest Ramayana in Telugu is generally known as the Ranganatha Ramayana, authored by the chief Gonabudda Reddy. Gonabudda Reddy (13th century CE was a Poet living in southern India. The works of Potana (1450-1510), Jakkana (second half of the fourteenth century) and Gaurana (first half of the fifteenth century) formed a canon of religious poetry during this period. Padakavitha Pithamaha, Annamayya, contributed many Accha (original) Telugu Padalu to this great language.

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries CE is regarded as the "golden age" of Telugu literature. Krishnadevaraya's Amuktamalayada, and Peddana's Manucharitra are regarded as Mahakavyas. Sri Krishnadevaraya ( Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಕೃಷ್ಣದೇವರಾಯ Telugu:శ్రీకృష్ణదేవరాయ (1509-1529 CE was the most famous Kavya refers to a highly artificial Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets in the early centuries AD. Telugu literature flourished in the south in the traditional "samsthanas" (centres) of Southern literature, such as Madurai and Tanjore. Madurai Thanjavur ( Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் also known by its Anglicised name Tanjore, and it is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu (after This age is often referred to as the "Southern Period". There were also an increasing number of poets in this period among the ruling class, women and non-Brahmins who popularised indigenous (desi) meters. Brahmin ( Brāhmaṇa, sa ब्राह्मणः is the class of educators scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism. Desi (or Deshi; ˈd̪eːsi or, Hindi: देसी Urdu: دیسی Punjabi: ਦੇਸੀ دیسی is a word originally from Sanskrit In Poetry, the meter or metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse.

With the conquest of the Deccan by the Mughals in 1687, Telugu literature entered a lull. The Mughal Empire ( Persian and self-designation گورکانی; مغلیہ سلطنت) was an Islamic imperial power which ruled most Tyagaraja's compositions are some of the known works from this period. Thyāgarāja (శ్రీ త్యాగరాజ స్వామి May 4, 1767 - January 6, 1847) was a composer of Carnatic music Then emerged a period of transition (1850-1910), followed by a long period of Renaissance. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Europeans like C. The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. P. Brown played an important role in the development of Telugu language and literature. In common with the rest of India, Telugu literature of this period was increasingly influenced by European literary forms like the novel, short story, prose and drama.

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. Paravastu Chinnayya Soori (1807-1861 is a well-known Telugu writer Sri Chinnayasoori wrote the Baala Vyaakaranamu in a new style after doing extensive research on "Andhra Grammar" which is the greatest gift to Telugu literature. Other well-known writings by Chinnayasoori are: (1) Neetichandrika (2) Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu (3) Andhra Dhatumoola and (4) Neeti Sangrahamu.

Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919) is known as the father of modern Telugu literature. |} Kandukuri Veeresalingam (also known as Kandukuri Veeresalingham Pantulu) ( 16 April, 1848 - 27 May, 1919) was a social reformer His novel, Rajasekhara Charitamu was inspired by the Vicar of Wakefield. The Vicar of Wakefield is a novel by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith. 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 are Rayaprolu Subba Rao, Gurajada Appa Rao, Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Katuri Venkateswara Rao, Jashuva, Devulapalli Venkata Krishna Sastry, and Sri Sri Puttaparty Narayana Charyulu.

Viswanatha Satyanarayana won India's national literary honour, the Jnanpith Award. Viswanatha Satyanarayana (b 10 September 1895 &ndash d 18 October 1976) popularly known as the Kavi Samraat (Emperor of Poetry The Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, it is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country Kanyasulkam, the first social play in Telugu by Gurajada Appa Rao, was followed by the progressive movement, the free verse movement and the Digambara style of Telugu verse. Bride price also known as bride wealth is an amount of Money or Property or Wealth paid by the groom or his family to the Parents of Gurajada Venkata Apparao (1862-1915(Telugu గురజాడ అప్పారావు wrote the first Telugu Other modern Telugu novelists include Unnava Lakshminarayana ("Maalapalli"), Viswanatha Satyanarayana ("Veyi Padagalu"), Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao and Buchi Babu. Viswanatha Satyanarayana (b 10 September 1895 &ndash d 18 October 1976) popularly known as the Kavi Samraat (Emperor of Poetry Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao ( October 28, 1909 &ndash August 17, 1980) also known as Ko Ku, was a ^[4]

Jnanpith award winners for Telugu

• 1970 Viswanatha Satyanarayana
• 1988 Dr. Viswanatha Satyanarayana (b 10 September 1895 &ndash d 18 October 1976) popularly known as the Kavi Samraat (Emperor of Poetry C. Narayanareddy

See also

• Telugu Wikipedia
• Telugu Literature
• Telugu cinema
• List of Telugu language television channels
• Languages of India
• List of official languages of India
• List of Indian languages by total speakers
• Andhra Pradesh

References

• P, Chenchiah; Raja Bhujanga Rao. A History of Telugu Literature. India: Oxford University press.  

External links

• Telugu Language & Literature
• Ethnologue report for Telugu
• Brown, Charles Philip. A Telugu-English Dictionary. New ed. , thoroughly rev. and brought up to date . . . 2nd ed. Madras: Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1903.
• Gwynn, J. P. L. (John Peter Lucius). A Telugu-English Dictionary. Delhi; New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
• Vemuri, V Rao, English-Telugu & Telugu-English Dictionary and Thesaurus Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2002
• Useful Telugu phrases in English and other Indian languages.
• Lekhini - Romanised to Unicode Telugu transliterator
• English to Telugu online dictionary
• VedaBooks.com - English to Telugu dictionary