Telugu language

"Desa bhashalandu Telugu Lessa" ("Among the nation's languages, Telugu is the best") - Sri Krishnadeva Raya.

Telugu (natively తెలుగు Telugu) is a Dravidian language Spoken in Andhra Pradesh State in INDIA.Telugu has the third largest number of native speakers in India (74 million according to the 2001 census) and is 15th in the Ethnologue list of most-spoken languages worldwide.

It is the official language of Andhra Pradesh, one of the largest states of India and the centrally administered Yanam district of the union territory of Puducherry. The mother tongue of the majority of people of Andhra Pradesh, it is also spoken in neighbouring states like Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India and was conferred the status of a Classical language by the Government of India

Telugu Script is derived from Bhattiprolu script, which is itself a variant of Brahmi Script. Telugu vocabulary has been subjected to prolonged influence from Sanskrit and Prakrits. It is also influenced by Urdu.

Telugu literature is generally divided into six periods:

pre-1020 CE	pre-Nannayya period
1020–1400	Age of the Puranas
1400–1510	Age of Srinatha
1510–1600	Age of the Prabandhas
1600–1820	Southern period
1820 to date	Modern period.

Telugu can be referred as "Italian of the East" because Telugu is the only language other than Italian where every word ends in a vowel. This gives the language an enchanting lilting quality when spoken." - Niccolo de Conti, 16th century Italian traveler.

Telugu is one of the 22 official languages of India. The Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu to be the official language of Andhra Pradesh. This enactment was implemented by GO Ms No 420 in 2005.

CP Brown Academy published several books, which are available for free download from their site.