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| Contents | ||
| Telugu (Telugu) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | India |
| Region: | Andhra Pradesh and neighboring states |
| Total speakers: | 80 million |
| Ranking: | 12 |
| Genetic classification: |
Dravidian South-central |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | India |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1: | te |
| ISO 639-2: | tel |
| SIL: | TCW |
Telugu was initially called Andhra bhasha (the language of Andhra). Andhra was the name of the area consisting of the present coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. In 1956, 10 Nizam districts and 4 districts of Rayalaseema were merged to Andhra and the collection was called Andhra Pradesh. Prakrut had significant effect on Telugu in earlier ages. But from Nannayya, Sanskrit had major influence on Telugu for the next 500-600 years.
Telugu is a member of the Telugu languages , along with Chenchu language , Savara language , and Waddar language . The Telugu languages are part of the South-central branch of the Dravidian languages.
Telugu is mainly spoken in Andhra Pradesh in India and in neighboring states in India, but it is also spoken in Bahrain, Fiji, Malaysia, Mauritius, United States, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates. Telugu people live almost in all parts of the World.
Telugu is one of the official languages of India. It is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh
The dialects of Telugu identified by Ethnologue are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Telangana, Telugu, Vadaga, Vadari, Srikakula, Vishakapatnam, East Godavari, Rayalseema, Nellore and Guntur. In Tamil Nadu the Telugu dialect is classified into Salem, Coimbatore, Chennai Telugu dialects.