Telugu, a Dravidian language, is dominantly spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is also spoken in the states of Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Chhattisgarh. With 82 million speakers, it is also the most spoken language of the Dravidian family. It has over 60 symbols, 16 vowels, 3 vowel modifiers, and 41 consonants. If you are a beginner or someone who is planning to learn Telugu then this blog is exactly for you. Here are some good tips to ace the Telugu language. 

 

As a beginner, you will be learning Telugu symbols and alphabets. These are the most important and basic steps to learning any language. 

Do the basics right

The first step towards learning any language right is learning the characters or symbols. Telugu borrows its alphabets from the Brahmi script just like various other Indian languages. The script is syllabic in nature. These syllables form the basis of writing in the language. When the consonants combine with the vowels, their sound is denoted orthographically. In order to be able to read, write and even understand Telugu, one must know these vowels and how they are stressed in certain ways to denote and mean something. Without doing that well, there is no way you can move forward with the language and it will just feel very difficult.

Maintain a Journal  

Maintain a journal from the very first lesson. You will definitely be needing one to learn the symbols, consonants, vowels and their sounds, but apart from that you can use this journal to note down meanings, some points to remember while learning, new words, phrases, proverbs, etc. That is the best way to learn and remember something that is completely new to you. You can also make it fun by adding some creativity. You can make some sticker notes of words and proverbs and change them every day so you keep learning new things or a word each day and will also be able to remember them. Maintaining a journal will also help you in the future.

Read! And Watch! 

As a beginner, try reading lots of children’s storybooks and textbooks. As they have a simple vocabulary. Once you are comfortable and at ease with this, you can move forward with trying to read the newspaper, magazine, and easy books. Reading will help you acquire words, it will also help you in understanding the grammar and syntax of the language better. One must remember that Telugu has a different grammar and syntax even from the fellow Dravidian languages, so practicing it is important, and learning how to frame sentences correctly can be easily learned through these books. You can also watch movies, listen to songs, etc to make it interesting and fun and at the same time, it will also help you with your listening and speaking skills. Remember that this will take time. And you must not have to rush yourself. 

Evaluate yourself and set goals 

Once you are thorough with reading and understanding Telugu try taking quizzes in it. You can also download apps and games that are meant for Telugu learners, they are a fun way to test yourself as well as improve your reading, writing, and speaking skills in the language. While evaluating focus on where you go wrong and how you can improve it. Self-evaluation helps in bringing quicker changes. 

Practice your way out  

Lots of practice is the only thing that will keep your boat sailing. Because practicing on a daily basis is very important. As the proverb rightly goes “ Practice makes a man perfect”, fluency will come only with practice. These tricky vowel sounds and the numerous rules that go around them can only be remembered through practice. Another important thing is to keep revising from time to time. 

The most important thing as a beginner you can do for yourself is to not compare your progress with other learners. Everybody has a pace to learn things and you must do it at a pace you are comfortable with. Rushing the learning process just because someone else did it faster is wrong as it takes the fun out of the entire process and you must also remember that people who are very fluent in Telugu have been learning and practicing it for years. To achieve that level of accuracy and command in the language, you must practice well and you will find yourself there very soon.