A consonant can be combined with another, non-inherent vowel sound.
Like “i.”
Or “u.”
Or “ā.”
Notice how the same vowel changed form once it combined with the consonant.
This is because vowels have two forms: primary and secondary.
Vowels in their primary form occur only in the beginning of the word:
Vowels in their secondary form occur everywhere else:
Consonants can also combine with each other in the Telugu alphabet.
When there are multiple consonants in a row with no vowels in between, a consonant cluster will form.
Only the first consonant in the cluster is in its primary form. The rest of the consonants are in their secondary form.
There are 36 consonants in the Telugu alphabet. And there are 16 vowels.
So if each consonant was combined with every single vowel, that would make 576 combinations.
576
The consonant-vowel combinations are called “guṇintālu.”
And, on the other hand, if each consonant was combined with every single consonant, that would make 1,296 combinations.
1,296
The consonant-consonant combinations are called “vattulu.”
Do not be intimidated by these huge numbers. These combinations work like multiplication tables (with some irregularities).
Once you learn the primary and secondary forms, mastering the combinations is pretty straightforward, as it’s mostly a matter of practice.
By the end of this course, you will know the following:
- The proper pronunciation of each letter
- The correct method of writing each letter
- Consonant-vowel combinations (guṇintālu)
- Consonant-consonant combinations (vattulu)