The state language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu. It is the third most spoken language in India after Hindi and one of the 23 official languages of India. Andhra Pradesh language – Telugu belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. It is a very old language that can be traced back to as early as the 1st century. The language has deviated a lot in many years when it was influenced by the foreigners who ruled the state.
The other languages spoken in Andhra Pradesh are Urdu, Hindi, Banjara, Tamil, Kannada, and Oriya. The People’s Linguistic Survey of India revealed that in the last 50 years, the state of Andhra Pradesh had lost 20 languages. Most of these languages were used by nomadic tribes who are gradually accepting the mainstream language as they try to blend into the urbanized culture of the state.
Main language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu as over 85% people living in Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu. Scholars claim that the word Telugu is derived from Trilinga. The language has gone through a number of changes since its birth. Telugu, the main language of Andhra Pradesh, has two main dialects. The script is written from left to right and it is syllabic in nature.
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The official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu and it has been the language of the state for centuries now. It substantially evolved to its current form, borrowing vocabulary from Sanskrit and Urdu. The language is often referred to as the “Italian of the East”. It is one of the six languages in India that is categorized as a classical language. Scholars claim that the word Telugu is derived from Trilinga. The language was also pronounced as Tenugu in early times. It is considered to be a difficult language to master because of the presence of a high number of inflections, sandhis and samasas in the language.
While there are other local languages of Andhra Pradesh as well, that are spoken by the locals in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu continues to dominate the state. Urdu is widely spoken in Andhra Pradesh by the Muslim settlers. A number of cities and towns located on the borders have Tamil and Kannada speakers as well. But Telugu is the main language in the state. English is also spoken very commonly among the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Telugu in Andhra Pradesh has just one dialect. Although, before the state was split, Telangana Telugu was considered to be different from the Telugu in what is currently the state of Andhra Pradesh. Hence, Telugu, the main language of Andhra Pradesh, has two main dialects. Depending on the regions, there are slight changes in the pronunciations and use of words, but overall you will find the entire state using a similar dialect while communicating in Telugu.
|Second State Language||Urdu|
|Regional/Local Language||English, Tamil and Kannada|
Being one of the classical languages of India, Andhra Pradesh language, Telugu has a rich history which involves its emergence even before the 1st century AD. Telugu inscriptions have been discovered dated back to almost 400 BC. The language has gone through a number of changes since its birth, and it gradually took the form that it has today. Influences of Sanskrit and Urdu moulded the language to its present state. Telugu literature experienced its Golden Age during the dominance of the Vijaynagara Empire. During the rule of the Tughlaq dynasty, the language started being influenced by Persian and Arabic.
The writing system for Telugu script utilizes simple or complex characters to form a word. The script is written from left to right and it is syllabic in nature. It is made of 60 unique symbols, 3 vowel modifiers, 16 vowels and 41 consonants. It also has its own set of digits for its number system. Since Telugu is the primary language in Andhra Pradesh, the script is used for writing for most of the other regional language of Andhra Pradesh.
Given the fact that it is one of the oldest languages in the country, Telugu, the local language of Andhra Pradesh, has an extensive literature. The earliest work in Telugu is considered to be a translation of Mahabharata by Nannaya (1022-1063). Nannaya is also considered to be the adikavi (first poet) of Telugu. Other famous literary geniuses who wrote in the language are Tikkanna, Yerrapragada, Gona Buddha Reddy, Pothana, Srinatha, Jakkana and Gaurana. When the Mughals conquered the Deccan, Telugu literature saw a slight slump. It was revived by Europeans like C. P Brown who urged the development of Telugu literature. This is one of the reasons why the literature during this period shows influences of European forms of writing like novels, prose and drama.
Andhra Pradesh language name is Telugu and it is one of the most widely spoken languages in India. It has an exuberant history which is compiled in the form of its rich literature. The gradual changes can be seen in the forms in which Telugu was written, till it reached its present form. A language that started from stone inscriptions is supported on most of the digital devices in the country today.