Telugu (; , ) is a
Dravidian language native to
India. It stands alongside
Hindi,
English and
Bengali as one of the only languages which predominate in more than one Indian
state; it is the primary language in the states of
Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana, as well as in the town of
Yanam where it is also an
official language. It is also spoken by significant minorities in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
Chhattisgarh,
Karnataka,
Maharashtra,
Odisha,
Tamil Nadu, and
Puducherry, and by the
Sri Lankan Gypsy people. It is one of six languages designated a
classical language of India by the Government of India. Telugu ranks second by the number of
native speakers in India (74 million) (2001 Census), fifteenth in the Ethnologue list of most-spoken languages worldwide and is the most widely-spoken Dravidian language. It is one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India.