Diversity of languages of Andhra Pradesh

Languages of Andhra Pradesh is of Dravidian origin. Telugu is the official language of Andhra Pradesh.

Languages of Andhra Pradesh belong to the Dravidian language group. Telugu is the official language in Andhra Pradesh including Telengana region. In October 1953, the state was constituted and Telugu was acknowledged with this status. India comprises of different linguistic communities, each sharing a common language of their own. The Indian languages belong to four classes of languages: Mon-Khmer, Sino-Tibetan, Indo-European and Dravidian. These languages are grouped on the basis of geographical locations in India.

Telugu Language: Telugu is one of the 23 official languages of India. The subtlety of the language emphasizes the language’s profundity. Telugu is an exceptionally robust language and is highly moulded by Sanskrit influence. It was also referred to as ‘Tenugu’ in the past. Amongst the Dravidian languages, Telugu is mostly spoken by the people. In terms of population, Telugu ranks second to Hindi among the Indian languages. The Telugu alphabet is called ‘Onamaalu’.

Kolami Language: Kolami is another language of Andhra Pradesh is also widely used in Andhra region. Like all other South Indian languages, it also belongs to the category of Dravidian language group. This language is also spoken in Maharashtra and Telangana. It is the most widely spoken Central Dravidian language.

Kannada Language: Since, Telugu has a close resemblance with Tamil, Kannada and Tulu, Kannada is also one of the spoken languages in Andhra Pradesh. Though Kannada is the official language of Karnataka, it has some significant linguistic minorities in Andhra Pradesh. Kannada is considered to be one of the oldest living languages.

Urdu Language: With the advent of the Muslim rule, several Persian and Arabic words entered into the Telugu language. Urdu is another language that came to the Deccan, late in the 15th century. It flourished during the reign of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty.

Tamil Language: Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, but is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India.