Telugu Language Day: August 29

Telugu Language Day (Telugu Bhasha Dinotsavam) is celebrated on August 29 every year. The birth anniversary of Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy, a prominent Telugu writer, is celebrated as the day whose contributions, Vyavaharika Bhasha or Vaaduka Bhasha (Colloquial language) is immense. Telugu is referred to as ‘The Italian of the East’, as Niccolò de’ Conti, the 16th century Italian explorer found that the Telugu language ends with vowels just like the Italian language.

• Telugu which belongs to the family of Dravidian languages(classical languages in India) is the  official language of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.Predominantly, Telugu Language Day is celebrated in these states.

Key Info

i.For the betterment of the Telugu language, AP Govt on this day will provide funds and presents awards

ii.On behalf of the AP Govt, the department of culture is responsible for organizing the day

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy’s Key Contributions 

i.With the help of him spoken Telugu was standardized and was accepted by scholars, as  Spoken Telugu is different from written Telugu, i.e., learning written Telugu was not helpful to understand or communicate.

ii.This is the reason for the usage of telugu schools and educational institutions as the medium of instruction, examination, and writing.

About Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy

i.Personal Info

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy was one of the earliest modern Telugu linguists  during the British rule, who supported the use of language & stood firmly against the use of scholaristic language(‘Grandhika Bhasha’)

ii.Works

His other works include- ‘Kalinga (Orissa) Charitra’; Developed language script and prepared lexicons for the ‘Savara’ people (Munda tribe); Sora-English Dictionary; Savara Patalu

iii.Honours

• The title Rao Saheb, was given by the British Government for his service to the Savaras, to pedagogy and to Telugu but not for his loyalty to the Crown.
• The title “Kaisar-i-Hind Medal” was given to him in 1933 for his services   by the british government.
• He is nicknamed as pidugu (a thunderbolt)- rhyming with his surname, Gidugu
• His work was  recognized on Munda linguistics as pioneering and original by European linguisticians like Jules Bloch and Daniel Jones

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