Telugu/Introduction

thumb|right|Distribution of native Telugu speakers in India. Telugu (తెలుగు telugu) is a Dravidian language (South-Central) mostly spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is the official language. Telugu is among the fifteen most widely spoken languages in the world. There are approximately 10,000 words in Telugu as a contemporary language. Including non-native speakers, it is the most spoken language in the Dravidian family of languages (which include Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Kuvi, Tulu and Brahui which is spoken in Pakistan), the second most spoken language in the Republic of India after Hindi, and the third most spoken language in the Indian subcontinent after Hindi and Bengali. It is one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is also spoken in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, and Puducherry (Yanam), with major populations of Telugu-speakers in Bengaluru and Chennai. Outside India, it is also spoken among the Indian Telugu diaspora in the United States of America, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Ireland, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Réunion, Trinidad and the United Kingdom.