Editing Telugu language (section)

=== Earliest records ===
One of the earliest Telugu words, ''nāgabu'', found at the [[Amaravati Stupa]], is dated to around 200 BCE.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |page=109 |url=https://archive.org/details/bharathi19280601/page/n109/mode/2up |title=ప్రాచీనాంధ్ర శాసనాలు, వేటూరి ప్రభాకర శాస్త్రి |date=1928-06-01 |language=Telugu}}</ref> This word was further analyzed by [[Iravatham Mahadevan]] in his attempts to decipher the [[Indus script]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |page=4 |title=Harappan Heritage of Andhra |url=https://rmrl.in/wp-content/plugins/book_lists/admin/pdf_books/38%20-%20Harappan%20Heritage%20of%20Andhra_%20A%20New%20Interpretation%20(2010).pdf}}</ref> Several Telugu words, primarily personal and place names, were identified at [[Amaravati]], [[Nagarjunakonda]], [[Krishna Basin|Krishna river basin]], [[Ballari]], [[Eluru]], [[Ongole]] and [[Nellore]] between 200 BCE and 500 CE.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Chapter III |pages=22–30 |title=Telugu words in Prakrit and Sanskrit inscriptions |author=K. Mahadeva Sastri |date=1969 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.153565/page/n38/mode/1up?view=theater}}</ref>

The [[Ghantasala, Krishna district|Ghantasala]] Brahmin inscription<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Chhabra |editor-first=B. CH. |editor2-last=Rao |editor2-first=N. Lakshminarayan |title=Epigraphia Indica Vol. XXVII 1947- 48 |url=http://indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/epigraphia-indica-vol-xxvii-1947-48 |access-date=5 April 2023 |website= |pages=1–4 |language=en}}</ref> and the pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni at Vijayapuri, [[Nagarjunakonda]], and other locations date to the first century CE.<ref name=":422"/><ref>{{cite web |title=R.Gandhi vs The Secretary to the Government |url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24294042/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819015314/https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24294042/ |archive-date=19 August 2018 |access-date=9 May 2018 |website=[[Indian Kanoon]]}}</ref> Additionally, the [[:te:తుమ్మలగూడెం|Tummalagudem]] inscription of the [[Vishnukundina dynasty|Vishnukundinas]] dates to the 5th century CE.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vk1mAAAAMAAJ&q=Tummalagudem |title=Epigraphia Andhrica |date=1969 |publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh |volume=2 |pages=9–14 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":422"/> Telugu place names in Prakrit inscriptions are attested from the 2nd century CE onwards.<ref name=":15">{{cite book |last=Krishnamurti |first=Bhadriraju |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fV7Lwu3fMC&dq=first+inscription+in+Telugu+575&pg=PA23 |title=The Dravidian Languages |date=16 January 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-43533-8 |page=23 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hock |first1=Hans Henrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ&dq=first+inscription+in+Telugu+575&pg=PA99 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide |last2=Bashir |first2=Elena |date=24 May 2016 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-042330-3 |page=99 |language=en}}</ref>

A number of Telugu words were found in the [[Sanskrit]] and [[Prakrit]] inscriptions of the [[Satavahana|Satavahana dynasty]], [[Vishnukundinas|Vishnukundina dynasty]], and [[Andhra Ikshvaku]]s.<ref name=":422"/> The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods, used a [[Prakrit]] dialect without exception. Some reverse coin legends are in Telugu{{Sfn|Sinopoli|2001|p=163}}<ref name="MP">{{cite book |last=Pollock |first=Sheldon |title=The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India |publisher=University of California Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-5202-4500-6 |page=290}}</ref> and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] languages.<ref name="Taylor & Francis">{{cite book |last1=Yandell |first1=Keith E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucMeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 |title=Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India |last2=Paul |first2=John J. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-81808-0 |page=253 |access-date=3 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131438/https://books.google.com/books?id=ucMeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Telugu talli bomma.JPG|thumb|Telugu Talli Bomma (statue of Mother Telugu), the personification of Telugu language in Andhra Pradesh]]