‘Telegu should be made world language, research centre needed’

Telengana: Proper steps including a research and training facility is required to make Telegu a world language, according to poet and critic Velcheru Narayana Rao, who is also a professor of Indian literature in several US universities.

Professor Rao, while delivering the first Mandali Venkata Krishna Rao Endowment lecture on 'Making Telugu a World Language' at the Cultural Centre of Vijayawada here on Saturday, stressed on the importance of teaching Telegu to foreigners looking to learn the language, and spoke about the powerhouse of knowledge that great Telegu works are. This was the first such lecture started off by the Krishna District Writers' Association.

According to Rao, an institute which can conduct research on how to teach Telegu as a second language, prepare a database on all the available information on the language, and also train teachers on how to impart the language education to foreigners, is essential to turn Telegu into a world language.

"Greek, Roman, Italian, French, and English became world languages because linguists taught them to others. Similarly, Sanskrit became a world language because linguists from all over the world came and learned the language to enrich themselves with the knowledge provided in the various Sanskrit texts," asserted the professor.

"Similarly there was a lot of knowledge in the great Telugu works, and there would be a void left in world knowledge if no efforts were made to make Telugu a world language," said Rao.

The professor said that ironically, it was easier to access the ancient books written on palmyra leaves, called talapatra gradalu, while some of the more recently printed Telegu books were difficult to locate.

Rao added that it was important to make accessible all great works in Telegu for research work, without which the richness of the language would be lost. (image: http://eemaata.com)