Telugu varnamala – Telugu Alphabets

Telugu varnamala or Telugu alphabet is an abugida writing system used to write the Telugu language. It consists of 56 letters, including vowels, consonants, and combination letters. The Telugu alphabet is written from left to right and is closely related to other South Indian scripts like Kannada and Tamil.

Telugu  Vowels:

The Telugu alphabet has 16 vowels, which are represented using independent letters or as a diacritic on a consonant letter. The independent vowel letters are అ (a), ఆ (aa), ఇ (i), ఈ (ii), ఉ (u), ఊ (uu), ఋ (r), ౠ (rr), ఎ (e), ఏ (ee), ఐ (ai), ఒ (o), ఓ (oo), ఔ (au). The diacritics are used to modify the inherent vowel sound of a consonant. For example, the vowel sign ి (i) is added to the consonant క (ka) to form the syllable కి (ki).

Telugu Consonants:

The Telugu alphabet has 33 consonant letters. Each consonant letter represents a consonant sound with an inherent vowel sound. Some of the consonant letters also have additional marks to modify the inherent vowel sound or to represent a different consonant sound. For example, the consonant letter చ (cha) can be modified with the vowel sign ా (aa) to form the syllable చా (chaa). Similarly, the consonant letter క (ka) can be modified with the vowel sign రు (ru) to form the syllable కృ (kru).

Combination letters:

The Telugu alphabet also has three combination letters, which are used to represent sounds that are not found in the basic consonant-vowel combinations. These letters are క్ష (ksha), త్ర (tra), and జ్ఞ (jnya). For example, the combination letter క్ష (ksha) is used to represent the sound found in words like అక్షరము (aksharamu), which means “alphabet” in Telugu.

The Telugu alphabet has evolved over time, with changes in the script’s style and usage. The earliest known Telugu inscriptions date back to the 6th century CE, and the script has since undergone several changes.

The modern Telugu script was standardized in the early 20th century by the Telugu Sahitya Samithi, a literary society dedicated to promoting Telugu language and literature.

The Telugu alphabet is widely used in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as well as in other parts of India and by Telugu-speaking communities around the world.

It is used in books, newspapers, magazines, and websites, as well as in official documents and signage. The Telugu alphabet is also used to write other Dravidian languages, such as Kannada and Tamil, as well as the Sanskrit language.