Telugu is the second largest spoken language of India following Hindi. Telugu is also one of the six classical languages of India and it is the official language of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and the Union Territory of Pondicherry, in its Andhra Pradesh region, Yanam. Telugu is also spoken by considerable number of people in Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Although Telugu was known as one of the classical languages of India, its origins are not clear. Prakrit dialect of Desi also known as Paisachi was said to have been ancient language of the region currently under the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, during the Satavahana period. Hala composed his Gathasaptasatiin this regional language which later served as source for the refined languages of Telugu, and a dialect of Marathi known as Desastha Marathi. Telugu also has some elements of Pali, which makes it similar to Oriya (language of Orissa). Telugu is also considered a Dravida language...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Further Reading
Arudra. 2005. Samagra Andhra Sahityam. Revised reprint. Hyderabad: Telugu Akademi
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Vemsani, L. (2022). Telugu. In: Long, J.D., Sherma, R.D., Jain, P., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1188-1_557
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1188-1_557
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1187-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1188-1
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities