Telugu script-Cedar Herald Index

Telugu script (), an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as several other neighbouring states. It is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic. The Telugu script is also widely used for writing Sanskrit texts and to some extent the Gondi language. It gained prominence during the Eastern Chalukyas also known as Vengi Chalukya era. It shares extensive similarities with the Kannada script, as both of them evolved from the Bhattiprolu and Kadamba scripts of the Brahmi family. In 2008, the Telugu language was given the status of a Classical Language of India, in recognition of its rich history and heritage.

History

The Brahmi script used by Mauryan kings eventually reached the Krishna River delta and would give rise to the Bhattiprolu script found on an urn purported to contain Lord Buddha's relics. Buddhism spread to East Asia from the nearby ports of Ghantasala and Masulipatnam (ancient Maisolos of Ptolemy and Masalia of Periplus). The Bhattiprolu Brahmi script evolved into the Kadamba script by the 5th century, which in turn developed into the Telugu-Kannada script after the 7th century. The Telugu and Kannada scripts then separated by around 1300 CE. The Muslim historian and scholar Al-Biruni referred to both the Telugu language as well as its script as "Andhri".

Telugu script

Vowels

Telugu uses sixteen vowels, each of which has both an independent form and a diacritic form used with consonants to create syllables. The language makes a distinction between short and long vowels.

Telugu script

The independent form is used when the vowel occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable, or is a complete syllable in itself (example: a, u, o). The diacritic form is added to consonants (represented by the dotted circle) to form a consonant-vowel syllable (example: ka, kr̥, mo). does not have a diacritic form, because this vowel is already inherent in all of the consonants. The other diacritic vowels are added to consonants to change their pronunciation to that of the vowel.

Telugu script

Examples:

Consonants

Marginal and archaic consonants

Additionally there are ౘ (ĉa) and ౙ (ẑa) for /t͡sa, d͡za/ which are rarely used, letters for <c, j> are commonly used instead.

The letter for a voiced alveolar plosive is found in some inscriptions, it is thought to have been distinguished from the trill ఱ (ṟa) intervocalically rarely; its mostly found after a nasal as in మూన్ౚు (mūnḏu).

Other diacritics

There are also several other diacritics used in the Telugu script. ్ mutes the vowel of a consonant, so that only the consonant is pronounced. ం and ఁ nasalize the vowels or syllables to which they are attached. ః adds a voiceless breath after the vowel or syllable it is attached to.

Examples:

Marginal and archaic diacritics and signs

◌఼: Telugu nuqta.

ఽ: Telugu avagraha.

ౝ: Nakaara pollu.

ఀ: The combining candrabindu nasal vowel diacritic of the Telugu script.

ఄ: Combining anusvara above.

౷: Siddham sign.

౿: Tuumu sign.

Places of articulation

There are five classifications of passive articulations: Kaṇṭhya: Velar Tālavya: Palatal Mūrdhanya: Retroflex Dantya: Dental Ōshtya: Labial

Apart from that, other places are combinations of the above five: Dantōsthya: Labio-dental (E.g.: v) Kantatālavya: E.g.: Diphthong e Kantōsthya: labial-velar (E.g.: Diphthong o)

There are three places of active articulation: Jihvāmūlam: tongue root, for velar Jihvāmadhyam: tongue body, for palatal Jihvāgram: tip of tongue, for cerebral and dental : lower lip, for labial

The attempt of articulation of consonants (Uccāraṇa Prayatnam) is of two types, Bāhya Prayatnam: External effort Spṛṣṭa: Plosive Īshat Spṛṣṭa: Approximant Īshat Saṃvṛta: Fricative Abhyantara Prayatnam: Internal effort Alpaprānam: Unaspirated Mahāprānam: Aspirated Śvāsa: Unvoiced Nādam: Voiced

Articulation of consonants

Articulation of consonants is the logical combination of components in the two prayatnams. The below table gives a view upon articulation of consonants.

The Telugu script has generally regular conjuncts, with trailing consonants taking a subjoined form, often losing the talakattu (the v-shaped headstroke). The following table shows all two-consonant conjuncts and one three-consonant conjunct, but individual conjuncts may differ between fonts.