Telugu grammar
 | The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (February 2020) |
The first treatise on Telugu grammar (Template:Lang-te vyākaraṇam), the Andhra Sabda Chintamani (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర శబ్ద చింతామణి Āndhra śabda cintāmaṇi) was written in Sanskrit by Nannayya, who is considered the first poet (ādikavi) and grammarian of the Telugu language, in the 11th century CE. After Nannayya, Atharvana and Ahobala composed the sutras, the vartikas and the bhashyam.
In the 19th century, Paravastu Chinnaya Suri wrote a simplified work on Telugu grammar called Bāla Vyākaraṇam (lit. Children's grammar), borrowing concepts and ideas from Nannayya, in Telugu.[1]
According to Nannayya, language without 'Niyama' or the language which does not adhere to Vyākaranam is called Grāmya (lit of the village) or Apabhraṃśa, is unfit for literary usage. All literary texts in Telugu follow the Vyākaraṇam.[1]
Inflection
Telugu is more inflected than other literary Dravidian languages. Telugu nouns are inflected for number (singular, plural), gender (masculine and non-masculine) and grammatical case (nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, and vocative).[2]
Gender
Telugu has three genders:
- masculine (purusha liṅgamu),
- feminine (strī liṅgamu),
- neuter (napunsaka liṅgamu).
In Telugu the occurrence of the suffix (–ḍu) almost always encodes masculine gender. For example:
- tammuḍu (younger brother),
- mukhyuḍu (important man),
- Rāmuḍu (Rāma),
- nāyakuḍu (leader).
However, there are nouns that do not end in (-ḍu) that belong to the masculine class.For example:
- annayya (elder brother),
- māmayya (uncle).
Most of the words ending in -ḍu are borrowings from Sanskrit words ending in -a, and therefore the feminine forms of these words are equivalent to the Sanskrit words.
| Masculine | Sanskrit original | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| nartakuḍu | nartaka | nartaki |
| vācakuḍu | vācaka | vācaki |
| premikuḍu | premika | preyasi |
Sometimes, a word ending in -ḍu is feminized by adding the suffix -ālu to the root. The -a ending of the root becomes -ur. This phenomenon is known as the rugāgama sandhi.
| Masculine | Sanskrit original | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| nartakuḍu | nartaka | nartakurālu |
| priyuḍu | priya | priyurālu |
| bhaktuḍu | bhakta | bhakturālu |
Neuter-gendered words usually contain the suffix -amu. This suffix descends from the Old Telugu suffix -ambu and is increasingly losing the final -u to become -aṁ. These neuter words are often borrowed from Sanskrit neuter-gendered words ending in -a, -am, -i, or -u. The final -a usually becomes -amu, and the final -u becomes -uvu.
| Sanskrit original | Telugu |
|---|---|
| citrapaṭam | citrapaṭamu |
| ākāśam | ākāśamu |
| nīra | nīru |
| madhu | madhuvu |
However, Telugu sometimes uses the same forms for singular feminine and neuter genders – the third person pronoun (అది /ad̪ɪ/) is used to refer to animals and objects.[3]
Number (vachanam)
Anything with quantity one is singular (ekavachanam). Anything more than one in number is called plural (bahuvachanam), as in English.
In Telugu the plural is also used to as an honorific. Some nouns are always plural and some are always singular. For example, water (neellu) is always plural.
God (bhagavantudu), sun (suryudu), earth (bhūmi), and moon (chandrudu) are always singular form.
Case (విభక్తి vibhakti)
Telugu has eight cases.
| Telugu | English | Usual Suffixes |
|---|---|---|
| Prathamā Vibhakti (ప్రథమా విభక్తి) | Nominative | డు, ḍu, ము, mu, వు, vu, లు lu |
| Dvitīyā Vibhakti (ద్వితీయా విభక్తి) | Accusative | నిన్, nin, నున్, nun, లన్, lan, కూర్చి, kūrchi, గురించి gurinchi |
| Trutīyā Vibhakti (తృతీయా విభక్తి) | Instrumental | చేతన్, chētan, చేన్, chēn, తోడన్, tōḍan, తోన్ tōn |
| Chaturthi Vibhakti (చతుర్థి విభక్తి) | Dative | కొఱకున్, korakun, కై kai |
| Panchamī Vibhakti (పంచమీ విభక్తి) | Ablative | వలనన్, valanan, కంటెన్, kaṇṭen, పట్టి paṭṭi |
| Shashthī Vibhakti (షష్ఠీ విభక్తి) | Genitive | కిన్, kin, కున్, kun, యొక్క, yokka, లోన్, lōn, లోపలన్ lōpalan |
| Saptamī Vibhakti (సప్తమీ విభక్తి) | Locative | అందున్, andun, ఇందున్, indun, నన్ nan |
| Sambodhanā Prathamā Vibhakti (సంబోధనా ప్రథమా విభక్తి) | Vocative | ఓ, ō, ఓయీ, ōī, ఓరీ, ōrī, ఓసీ ōsī |
Word order
Telugu word order is relatively free, and nouns are inflected for case. However, the most common word order tends to be SOV (subject–object–verb).
రాముడు
Rāmuḍu
Ram
SUBJECT
బడికి
baḍiki
to school
OBJECT
వెళ్తాడు.
veḷtāḍu
goes.
VERB
Ram goes to school.
Punctuation
Telugu uses single and double vertical bars to indicate a comma and a full stop. However modern Telugu uses punctuation marks which are borrowed from English.[4]
Sandhi or joining
Sandhi is the fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of sounds due to neighboring sounds or due to the grammatical function of adjacent words.
Telugu sandhis can be divided into native ones and those derived from Sanskrit ones.
Sanskrit Sandhis
These sandhis usually take place when the two words undergoing Sandhi are words borrowed from Sanskrit.
Savarṇadīrghasandhi (Vowel lengthening)
The savarṇadīrgha sandhi, from Sanskrit savarṇa 'same sound' and dīrgha 'long', this sandhi takes place when the first word ends in the same vowel that the second word starts with. The two vowels join to form one long vowel.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| deva | ālayamu | dēvālayamu |
| pārvati | īśvaruḍu | pārvatīśvaruḍu |
| aṇu | utpatti | aṇūtpatti |
Guṇasandhi (Vowel raising)
The guṇasandhi takes place when a word final -a is followed by either -i, -u or -r̥. The sandhi yields -ē, -ō and -ar respectively. -ē, -ō and -ar are collectively called the guṇas, hence the name.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| mahā | indra | mahēndra |
| dhana | utpatti | dhanōtpatti |
| dēva | r̥ṣi | dēvarṣi |
Vr̥ddhisandhi (Diphthongization)
The vr̥ddhisandhi, from Sanskrit vr̥ddhi-, 'growth', takes place when a word final -a is followed by -ē or -ai, -ō or -au, and -ar or -ār, and yields -ai, -au and -ār respectively. -ai, -au and -ār are collectively called the vr̥ddhis, hence the name.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| vasudha | ēka | vasudhaika |
| mahā | aikyata | mahaikyata |
| vīra | ōjassu | vīraujassu |
| divya | auṣadhamu | divyauṣadhamu |
Yaṇādēśasandhi (Glide insertion)
The yaṇādēśasandhi takes place when word final -i, -u or -r̥ is followed by a non-similar vowel. The sandhi yields either -y-, -v- or -r- respectively. These are known as the yaṇās.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ati | āśa | atyāśa |
| su | āgatamu | svāgatamu |
| pitr̥ | ājña | pitrājña |
Native sandhis
These sandhis usually occur when one or both of the words is a native Telugu word, or is a Sanskrit borrowing that is treated as such (ex. iṣṭamu).
Akārasandhi (Elision of a)
This sandhi occurs when a word final -a is followed by any vowel. The word final -a is removed, and the following vowel takes its place.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| iṅkā | ēṇṭi | iṅkēṇṭi |
| puṭṭina | illu | puṭṭinillu |
| amma | aṇṭē | ammaṇṭē |
| teliyaka | uṇḍenu | teliyakuṇḍenu |
Ikārasandhi
This sandhi occurs when a word final -i is followed by any vowel. The word final -i is removed, and the following vowel takes its place.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| mari | eppuḍu | mareppuḍu |
| vāḍi | illu | vāḍillu |
| ēmi | aṇṭivi | ēmaṇṭivi |
| ēmi | a(y)inadi | ēma(y)inadi |
| ēmi | undi | ēmundi |
Ukārasandhi
This sandhi occurs when a word final -u is followed by any vowel. The word final -u is removed, and the following vowel takes its place.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ceppu | iṅkā | ceppiṅkā |
| vāḍu | evaḍu | vāḍevaḍu |
| nīḷlu | unnāyā | nīḷlunnāyā |
| vāḍu | annāḍu | vāḍannāḍu |
Trikasandhi
One of the most complicated of the sandhis, the trikasandhi is of two forms:
- When a final -ā -ī or -ē is followed by a non-clustered consonant, the vowel is shortened, and the unclustered consonant is geminated.
- When the word mūḍu (three) is followed by a consonant, the word-final -ḍu is eliminated. This triggers the first rule of the trikasandhi, and the now-word-final -ū is shortened, and the following consonant is geminated. When the consonant is l-, sometimes it is geminated to -ḷḷ- instead.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ī | kālamu | ikkālamu |
| ē | cōṭu | eccōṭu |
| ā | bhaṅgi | abbaṅgi |
| mūḍu | lōkamulu | mullōkamulu |
| mūḍu | kōṭi | mukkōṭi |
Āmrēḍitasandhi
This sandhi deals with repeated words, i.e., pairs of same words. This sandhi forms some of the most used irregular-looking words in the language. It has three rules:
- When a vowel-initial word is repeated, the final vowel of the first word is eliminated.
- Word final forms of ka (ka, ki, ku, ke, etc.) of the first word are eliminated and the first rule is applied.
- The andādi words (anduku, iggulu, tumuru, tuniyalu, etc.) when compounded lead to irregular forms.
| Word | Result |
|---|---|
| aura | auraura |
| endun | endendun |
| appaṭiki | appaṭappaṭiki |
| ūran | ūrūran |
| ceduru | cellāceduru |
| iggulu | iṟṟiggulu |
Dviruktaṭakārasandhi
Sometimes regarded as a form of the āmrēḍitasandhi, the dviruktaṭakārasandhi occurs when kaḍādi (kaḍa, naḍuma, madhyāhnamu, bayalu, etc.) words are compounded. A dviruktaṭakāra, a geminated -ṭṭ- forms from this sandhi, hence the name.
| Initial word | Final word | Result |
|---|---|---|
| madhyāhnamu | madhyāhnamu | miṭṭamadhyāhnamu |
| pagalu | pagalu | paṭṭapagalu |
| naḍuma | iṇṭlō | naṭṭiṇṭlō |
Gasaḍadavādēśasandhi
- Trika Sandhi.
- Dugagama Sandhi.
- Saraladesha Sandhi
- Gasadadavadesha Sandhi.
- Rugagama Sandhi.
- Yadagama Sandhi.
- Prathametara Vibhakti Sandhi.
- Uchadadi sandhi.
Samasam or nominal compounds
Samasam or samasa occurs with various structures, but morphologically speaking they are essentially the same: each noun (or adjective) is in its (weak) stem form, with only the final element receiving case inflection.
Some of the Telugu samasams are:
- Tatpuruṣa Samasam.
- Prathama tatpurusha samasam
- Dvitiya tatpurusha samasam
- Trutiya tatpurusha samasam
- Chaturthi tatpurusha samasam
- Panchami tatpurusha samasam
- Shashti tatpurusha samasam
- Saptami tatpurusha samasam
- Nai tatpurusha samasam
- Karmadhāraya Samasam.
- Viśeshana purwapada karmadharaya samasam
- Viśeshana uttarapada karmadharaya samasam
- Viśeshana ubhayapada karmadharaya samasam
- Upamana purvapada karmadharaya samasam
- Upamana uttarapada karmadharaya samasam
- Avadharana purvapada karmadharaya samasam
- Sambhavana purvapada karmadharaya samasam
- Dvigu Samasam.
- Dvandva Samasam.
- Bahuvrīhi Samasam.
- Amredita Samasam.
- Avyayībhāva Samasam
Alankaram or ornamentation
Telugu Alankaram is a figure of speech which means ornaments or embellishments which are used to enhance the beauty of the poems. There are two types of Alankarams, 'Shabdalankaram' which primarily focuses on Sound and 'Arthalamkaram' which focuses on meaning. These two alankarams are further broken down in to different categories.[5] shabdalankaras are 6 types where as there are nearly 30 to 40 types in ardhalankaras.
- Shabdalankaram
- Vruttyanuprasa
- Chekanuprasa
- Latanuprasa
- antyanuprasa
- Yamakam
- Mukta pada grastam
- Arthalamkaram
- Upamanaalankaram
- Utprekshaalankaram
- Rupakaalankaram
- Shleshalankaram
- Arthantaranyaasam
- Atishayokti
- Drushtantam
- Swabhavokti
- vyajastu
- virodhi
- vishamamu
- parikaramu
- branti madala
- kramalam
Chandassu or Telugu prosody
Metrical poetry in Telugu is called 'Chandassu' or 'Chandas'. ya-maa-taa-raa-ja-bhaa-na-sa-la-gam is called the chandassu chakram. Utpalamala, Champakamala, Mattebha vikreeditham, Sardoola Vikreeditham, Kanda, Aata veladi, Theta geethi, Sragdhara, Bhujangaprayata, etc. are some metrics used in Telugu poetry.
Prakruti and Vikruti
Telugu has many Tatsama words. They are called Prakruti, which are equivalent to Sanskrit words. The equivalent colloquial words are called Vikruti, which means distorted. However, Prakruti is only used as a medium of instruction in educational institutions, offices etc.
For example:
| Prakruti | Vikruti |
|---|---|
| అగ్ని Agni (fire) | అగ్గి Aggi |
| భోజనం Bhojanam (food) | బోనం Bonam |
| విద్య Vidya (education) | విద్దె Vidhe, విద్దియ Vidhiya |
| రాక్షసి Raakshasi (evil) | రక్కసి Rakkasi |
| శూన్య Shoonya (zero) | సున్న Sunna |
| దృష్టి Drishti (sight) | దిష్టి Dishti |
| కనిష్టం Kanishtam (minimum) | కనీసం Kaneesam |
| అగరవర్తి Agaravarti (inscent, agara+varthi, scent wounded) | అగరవత్తి Agaravatti |
| విభూతి Vibhoothi (ash) | విభూధి Vibhudhi |
| చనక Chanaka (chick pea, Chanakya is derived from the same root) | శనగ śanaga |
| కవచ Kavacha (protective shell) | గవచ Gavacha, గవ్వ Gavva |
| భిక్షం Bhiksham (alms) | బిచ్చం Bicham |
| ద్వితీయ Dvitiya (second) | విదియ Vidiya |
| తృతీయ Trutiya (third) | తదియ Thadhiya |
| జాగ్రత Jaagrata (alert) | జాగ్రత్త Jaagratta |
| వామతి Vamati (vomit) | వాంతి Vanthi |
| స్వంత Swantha (own) | సొంత Sonta |
| అటవి Atavi (forest) | అడవి Adavi |
| త్వర Twara (fast) | తొరగా Toraga |
| రక్తము Rakthamu (blood) | రగతము Ragathamu |
Verbs
Although the morphological (grammatical) structure of Telugu verbs is quite evidently complex and complicated, the basic conjugation of subject person and number endings in modern spoken Telugu is in fact rather straightforward:
1.sg. -nu
2.sg. -w(u)
3.sg.masc. -Du
3.sg.fem./neut. -di
1.pl. -m(u)
2.pl. -ru
3.pl.masc./fem. -ru
3.pl.neut. -y(i)
See also
- Telugu language
- Telugu literature
- Telugu people
- Telugu development
- Satavahana Dynasty
- Sanskrit grammar
- Sanskrit pronouns and determiners
References
- ^ a b Gopavaram, Padmapriya; Subrahmanyam, Korada (2011). "1". A Comparative Study Of Andhrasabdachintamani And Balavyakaranam. Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad.
- ^ Charles Philip Brown (1857). A grammar of the Telugu language (2 ed.). Christian Knowledge Society's Press.
- ^ Charles Philip Brown (1857). A grammar of the Telugu language (2 ed.). Christian Knowledge Society's Press. p. 39.
- ^ A Short Outline of Telugu Phonetics.
- ^ Gopavaram, Padmapriya; Subrahmanyam, Korada (2011). A Comparative Study Of Andhrasabdachintamani And Balavyakaranam. Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad.
- ^ A Grammar of Modern Telugu by Krishnamurti and Gwynn (1985), p. 138. https://ia804704.us.archive.org/26/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.219638/2015.219638.A-Grammar.pdf