================================== Mind-blowing facts about Telugu language ================================== 1)There are more Telugu speakers in India (79 million; States of India by Telugu speakers) than there are those who speak French as a first language (75 million; French language) [The total number of French speakers, to include level 1 and 2 speakers is much more of course; thats 220 million] 2) Although the earliest body of Telugu literature that we can still access is Nannayyas 11th century partial translation of the Maharabharata, the language itself precedes the work by many centuries, if not millenia. There are stone inscriptions from 525 CE by the Cholas, possible literary references to Telugu words in the Maharaashtri Praakrit work, Gaha Sattasai, a literary work written by a Satavahana king that dates to somewhere between 200 BCE to 200 CE, and inscriptions in Telugu at Bhattiprolu that date back to 400 BCE (Telugu is 2,400 years old, says ASI ) 3) The language has changed completely from that early age to what it is now. For instance, one of the earliest inscriptions used the word nagabu for snake; that appears to be a proto-Telugu rendition of the (currently considered) orthodox Telugu word, naagamu, for an animal that lives on a hill (naga, నగ in Sanskrit), which could mean either a snake or elephant (you can see the word remaining in part in the contemporary Telugu word for an elephant, eenugu, ఏనుగు) 4) What the previous point implies is this: Basically, at some point in the past, the letters of the prathamaa vibhakti, Du, mu, vu, lu (డు, ము, వు, లు) - letters that others here have rightly commented end most (original, or accha) Telugu words - werent always so; Telugu speakers used to use the letter bu (బు) instead of mu (ము) in the past. As a native Telugu speaker, Ive always found this astounding. 5) Nannayya is, of course, rightly known as the Telugus Aadi Kavi (First Poet), for his partial translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata is the earliest piece of literature we still can read/ have access to. However, I would argue that his greatest contribution to the Telugu language is his Telugu grammar, Andhra Shabdha Chintamani, a set of linguistic rules that defined the language as we know it today, for which he was also given another sobriquet, vaaganu saasanuDu (The Determiner of Laws For Language) a far greater honour than merely being the First Poet. 6) Quite a few Europeans have written in contemporary Telugu, not just people like Sir CP Brown, who wrote the first English-Telugu dictionary and the short-story collection, Taatasri kathalu, but also people like the Portuguese missionary, Benjamin Shulge (Im transliterating his name back from Telugu, and could be mis-spelling it), who translated the Bible into Telugu. 7) The Telugu letter గ (ga) is visually similar to not just the corresponding Kannada letter ಗ (ga), but also the corresponding Burmese letter ဂ. 8) There are many Telugu communities in Myanmar even today: Facts include: 8.1) Vemana library in Yangon. 8.2) A street called Malle puula dibba (Stage made of Jasmine flowers) in Moulmein. 8.3) Telugu was taught in schools till the 1960s. 8.4) The second-in-command for the person who wrote the original 1948 constitution in Burma was of Telugu origin. 9) There was a Telugu school in either Selangor or Pahang state in Malaysia. Theres a Telugu community outside Ipoh. 10) Mauritius radio and television have regular programming in Telugu. There are Telugu people in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and other places in east and southern Africa as well. 11) తెలుగు తలచిన దేశంబు తెలంగాణ్యము (The Country Which Speaks of Telugu is Telangana, a bit of a re-working of an original quote by Krishnadevaraya ): There was an ancient Tailang civilization and language in eastern Myanmar (Online Information article about TALAING, Page on Archive) They have a lullaby that waxes nostalgia for a land called Telangana: Unlike what latest TV reports imply, it is not much of a mystery as to why the word Telangana pops up in that Mon lullaby. Mons trace their origins to the Tailangs, whose language, script and traditions can be traced to a certain Tailinga region in India. (KINGS OF BURMA) Colonial-era British historians presumed Tailinga was a corruption of Kalinga, but it wasnt; it is a corruption of Telangana, the land where Telugu is spoken. Basically, the Mon people can trace their linguistic lineage to the Eastern Chalukyas and their script, from where modern Telugu also originates. (You can see inscriptions in the Eastern Chalukyan script in the Government Museum Chennai) They are our long-lost cousins. 12) [This is a bit of a politically sensitive point these days, but historically, Telangana referred to regions where Telugu was spoken, not just the ten Telugu-speaking districts in the erstwhile Hyderabad state, which is how most people refer to these days. 13) Want more proof of the link between ancient Burma and Telugu? Consider the script Old Peguan: (This is from the book, Sign, Symbol, and Script by Hans Jensen) Compare the so-called old Peguan script with the contemporary Telugu script, or any of its progenitors listed above. Yup, Telugu culture once spanned (still spans) the Bay of Bengal.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 17:18:21 +0000