Telugu people

Telugu people
Total population
c. 81 million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
 India 81,127,740 (2011)[1]
Other See Telugu diaspora
Languages
Telugu
Religion
Predominantly:
Hinduism
Minorities:
Related ethnic groups

The Telugu people or Telugu vaaru are the people who speak Telugu as a first language. The majority of Telugus reside in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Yanam in Puducherry. There is also a significant Telugu population in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Telugu language is the third-most spoken language in India[3] and the fourth most in the Indian subcontinent, following Hindi, Bengali and Punjabi.

Language

Telugu is a South-Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India, where it is an official language. Early inscriptions date from 575 AD and literary texts from the 11th century, written in a Telugu script adapted from the Bhattiprolu alphabet of the early inscriptions.

Culture

Literature

Arts

Kuchipudi is a famous Classical Indian dance from Andhra Pradesh, India.

Clothing

  • Male
  1. Uttareeyam or Pai Pancha (Angavastram or veil)
  2. Pancha (Dhoti)
  3. Jubba (Kurta) The top portion
  4. Lungi (Casual dress)
  • Women
  1. Cheera (Sari)
  • Girls
  1. Langa Oni (Half sari)
  2. Parikini (Long skirt or skirt below knees and a blouse)

Festivals

Important festivals celebrated by Telugu people include:

Population

Distribution

Telugu is the third most spoken language after Hindi and Bengali in India.[3] Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the principle resident states for Telugu people.

Telugu people form the majority speakers in South India with over 71 million speakers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This is followed by 3.7 million in Karnataka and 3.5 million in Tamil Nadu making them the second largest language groups in those neighboring states.[4]

In Karnataka, Telugu people are predominantly found in the border districts with majority in Bangalore city. In Tamil Nadu, Telugu people who migrated during the Vijayanagara period have spread across mostly in Western districts and Northern Districts, with highest[4] concentration in Coimbatore District.

In Maharashtra the Telugu population is over 1.4 million, followed by 0.7 million in Orissa. Other states with significant population include West Bengal and Chhattisgarh with 200,000 and 150,000 respectively.[4]

The overseas Telugu diaspora numbers more than 800,000 in the United States, with the highest concentration in Central New Jersey (Little Andhra[5]).

Notable Telugu people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength - 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  2. ↑ "Telugu population figure worldwide". Ethnologue. August 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Nearly 60% of Indians speak a language other than Hindi". The Times of India.
  4. 1 2 3 "Kannadigas outnumber Malayalis 2:1 in Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  5. ↑ Accessed 18 June 2017.
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