Telugu spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is appreciated as the Italian of the East. The letters are derived from the Brahmi script.
There is an inherent musicality in Telugu with the natural coming together of the vowels and consonants in each letter. So this inherent musicality adds elegance to beautiful lyrical compositions.
This is why a majority of classical Carnatic pieces have been composed in Telugu even by other South Indian poets and musicians. Those by Saint Tyagaraja and Sankirtana Acharya Annamayya are the best examples.
- Lavanya Srinivas, story coach, teacher, trainer and translator
A language is usually created with spoken form, then literature, grammar and finally, the structure. Tholkappiyam, the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature, is a comprehensive text on grammar and goes to show Tamil is more ancient than we think.
Despite surviving this long, the ancient literature is still understood by a Tamil speaking individual without being a scholar. Also, those who fled the genocide as refugees and immigrants from Tamil Eelam did not carry much, except their language.
When this is one of the only possessions we can pass down to the next generation who may never see the Tamil homeland, then it truly becomes a part of us.
- Pirathajini Chandrakumar, student
By its nature, Hindi is a unique language. Around 45 per cent of people in India speak Hindi. The writing and pronunciation of the language, compared to other languages, are very clear and simple. The speciality of Hindi is that it is written exactly how it is spoken.
When read, every letter of the word is phonetically pronounced; the letters are never silent. Every sound has its own letter. It is these qualities that make Hindi distinctive in a sea of so many languages.
- Priya Naidu, assistant professor
I think Malayalam is so linguistically unique in the kind of sounds and pronunciations it has, like pazham and all the sharp "l" sounds. To a non-native listener, it sounds almost musical but it’s lovely how the smallest nuances can change the meaning of entire words.
Like panni (Sharp n) is cotton, panni (like a 'nya' sound) is pig, pani is fever and pani (sharp n) is work. Malayalam gives me so many ideas to make videos and it’s a great learning experience for me as well!
- Satshya Tharien, content creator
The best part about my mother tongue Kannada is that there are so many dialects to learn, even within my own house. My maternal grandfather is from Bellary, Karnataka, so he has his own vocabulary which many of us couldn’t understand.
My father's side has a completely different style of vocabulary. Even with these differences, situations don’t end up in chaos, as we have a common understanding. Sometimes, our language feels more like a melody or a raaga.
- Anirudh Krishna S, musician & music producer
Born to a Telugu dad and a Badaga mom who speak Tamil with each other, I speak all three languages. Did you know Angadi means 'shop' in all three? It’s fascinating. What I find unique about Badaga is that it’s a spoken language that lacks a script. In my family, though we speak to each other in Badaga, we text or write in Tamil. So, for generations, the language has been preserved only through oral traditions, songs and dance forms in our families.
- Kavya Lakshmi S, UPSC aspirant
Beyond the letters, words and meaning of a language, the principles and politics that Tamil conveys have always set an example for other languages to follow - be it Latin, Chinese, Greek or Sanskrit.
If you take the ancient literature of these languages, it placed their kings, zamindars and noblemen at the forefront and told their stories. But it was Tamil that took the common man to the forefront of its literature. Tamil literature also put women at the fore.
- Uma Devi, poet and lyricist
I'm from Kodagu, Karnataka and we speak an endangered language Kodava Thakk (Kodava Paje). Being a small community with a scattered population of less than 3 lakh people, it has taken conscientious efforts by our people to keep the language alive.
I write and narrate Kodava children’s stories on my YouTube channel, 'Smitha's Kaleidoscope' and my mother is an author of 11 books. We have newspapers like Brahmagiri and Poomale, too.
- Smitha Kuttayya Boppanda, storyteller and educator
The alphabet for Malayalam is vast and has a lot more sounds. Some are even unique to it. Those who can speak Malayalam well find it easy to pick up, adapt to and pronounce even the difficult words of new languages.
It is also one of the youngest languages; yet there is rich literature and great translation works. We have a tendency to localise English words and make them a part of Malayalam. Historically, Malayalam originated from Tamil and Sanskrit. So this tendency to adapt has always been there.
- Hitha Venugopal, software engineer/Malayalam teacher