TELUGU LANGUAGE

Telugu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam. It is also spoken in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Odisha. According to the 2001 census there are about 73.8 million native speakers of Telugu, and another 5 million second language speakers.

The first written materials in the language date from 575 CE. The Telugu script is derived from that of the 6th-century Calukya dynasty and is related to that of the Kannada language. Telugu literaturebegins in the 11th century with a version of the Hindu epic MAHABARATHA by the writer Nannaya Bhatta.

Until the 20th century Telugu was written in an archaic style very different from the everyday spoken language. During the the second half of the 20th century, a new written standard emerged based on the modern spoken language. In 2008 Telugu was designated as a classical language by the Indian government.

The origins of the Telugu alphabet can be traced by to the Brahmi alphabet of ancient India, which developed into an alphabet used for both Telugu and Kannada, which in turn split into two separate alphabets between the 12th and 15th centuries AD.