Telugu language policy

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Statue of Telugu Thalli, symbol of the Telugu people Telugu Talli Statue.jpg
Statue of Telugu Thalli, symbol of the Telugu people

Telugu language policy is a policy issue in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with 84 percent of the population reporting Telugu as their first language in Andhra Pradesh prior to the creation of the State of Telangana. [1] [2] Telugu-language advocates decry a lack of incentivisation and government support for the language, and press for their linguistic rights for Telugu's greater [ clarification needed ] recognition and promotion.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Present status

Telugu and English are the two dominant languages of instruction in the schools of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, while there are also schools who use other regional languages such as Urdu as the medium of instruction. Telugu is a compulsory subject in schools in both states, with fluency in the language being a requirement for matriculation. [3] [4]

The government in Andhra Pradesh is working to increase the number of English medium state schools, with some proposals calling for English to be the only medium of instruction in state schools, claiming that this policy reflects the growing desire of parents and that the state sector is losing pupils due to its inability to meet the increased demand for English medium schools. [5] [6] In Telangana, the government has issued plans to mandate English-medium education in all the private schools in the state. The trend towards English-medium education has caused alarm among some Telugu-language activists who claim that the state governments are placing the language in an inferior position and depriving Telugu-speakers of their language rights. [7] Passions have been further inflamed by anecdotal reports of students in English-language schools being punished for speaking Telugu. [8]

Many educated Telugu people began travelling around the world in search of knowledge-based jobs, and have observed that many countries are prospering faster than India by imparting education in their native languages without depending on English.[ citation needed ] Throughout India, native-language advocates are demanding less reliance on English.

Telugu promotion

In 2012 the Andhra Pradesh official-language commission resumed its activities, and was tasked with organizing the fourth World Telugu Conference (WTC) after a 22-year hiatus. The conference was a success, with 5,000 Telugu delegates from all over the world meeting in Tirupati. [9]

Implementations

Initiatives

Voluntary initiatives

Print and visual Telugu media have taken steps to reduce English in Telugu programs, using appropriate alternate Telugu words. [27] The Andhra Cricket Association has translated the National Cricket Academy's (NCA) coaching manuals into Telugu. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telugu language</span> Language native to South India

Telugu is a classical Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is one of the languages designated as a classical language by the Government of India. It is the 14th most spoken native language in the world. Modern Standard Telugu is based on the dialect of erstwhile Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts of Coastal Andhra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telugu Desam Party</span> Indian political party

The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian regional political party primarily active in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by Telugu matinée idol N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu people. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the ruling party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telangana</span> State in southern India

Telangana is a state in India situated in the south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh largest state and the twelfth most populated state in India as per the 2011 census. On 2 June 2014, the area was separated from the northwestern part of United Andhra Pradesh as the newly formed state of Telangana, with Hyderabad as its capital. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India, is the most widely spoken and the primary official language of the state.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telugu cinema</span>

Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telugu cinema has become the largest film industry in India by box-office revenue as of 2021. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among all Indian film industries. As of 2023, Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of movie screens in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanuku</span> City in Andhra Pradesh, India

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Andhra Prabha is a Telugu-language daily newspaper in India, circulated primarily in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Founded on August 15, 1938, by Ramnath Goenka under the Indian Express Group, it has become one of the longest-running Telugu dailies. Over the decades, the newspaper has undergone various editorial and ownership changes, including a transition from The New Indian Express Group to its current proprietorship under Muttha Gopalakrishna, an businessman and former MLA from Kakinada. Andhra Prabha also expanded into broadcasting in 2018 with the launch of India Ahead, a nationwide English news channel, marking a significant step as the first such channel to be based in South India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy</span> Telugu writer

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy (1863-1940) was a Telugu writer and one of the earliest modern Telugu linguists and social visionaries during the British rule. He championed the cause of using a language comprehensible to the common man as opposed to the scholastic language.

Jalagam Vengala Rao was for much of his life a member of the Indian National Congress and was the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh which is now divided into two states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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