Bhadriraju Krishnamurti

Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (IAST: IAST|Bhadrirāju Kṛṣṇamūrti) (June 19, 1928 - ) is an eminent Dravidianist and the most respected Indian linguist of his generation. He was a former Vice Chancellor of the Hyderabad Central University (1986-93) and was a professor of linguistics at the Ddepartment of Linguistics at the Osmania University (1962-86), which he also founded. His magnum opus "The Dravidian Languages" is considered a landmark volume in the study of Dravidian linguistics. He was a student and a close associate of Prof. Emeneau.

Contribution to linguistics

Krishnamurti is considered one of the pioneers in the study of comparative linguistics of the Dravidian languages. His thesis 'Telugu Verbal Bases' (1961) is considered a milestone in the study of south-central Dravidian languages. His comprehensive grammar on IAST|koṃḍa or Kūbi is a monumental work in the area of non-literary Dravidian languages. His research was devoted to the central problems of phonology and morphology/syntax of Dravidian, and he made significant contributions in advancing our knowledge of comparative and historical Dravidian studies in the second half of the twentieth century. His "Comparative Dravidian linguistics: Current perspectives" is a collection of twenty-one important articles published during the period 1955–1998, which provided outstanding solutions to many outstanding problems of Dravidian linguistics.

Major publications

English Books

# 1961. "Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study" (UCPL 24). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press (reprinted 1972).
# 1968a. (Ed.) "Studies in Indian Linguistics" (Professor M. B. Emeneau IAST|Ṣaṣṭ ipūrti Volume). Poona and Annamalainagar: Centres of Advanced Study in Linguistics.
# 1968b. "A Basic Course in Modern Telugu". Hyderabad: Department of Linguistics, Osmania University (co authored with P.Sivananda Sarma). 2006. Reprinted by Telugu Akademi, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad.
# 1969. "IAST|koṃḍa or Kūbi: A Dravidian Language". Hyderabad: Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute.
# 1977. "A Short Outline of Telugu Phonetics". Calcutta: Indian Statistical Institute (co-authored with Djordje Kostic' and A. Mitter).
# 1984. "Modernization of Indian Languages in News Media". (Ed. with Aditi Mukherji). Hyderabad: Department of Linguistics, Osmania University.
# 1985. "A Grammar of Modern Telugu" (co authored with J.P.L.Gwynn). New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
# 1986. (Ed.) "South Asian Languages: Structure, Convergence, and Diglossia (Proceedings of the Second International Conference of the South Asian Languages and Linguistics)" (Assoc. eds. C. P. Masica and A. K. Sinha). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
# 1992a. "Dimensions of Sociolinguistics in South Asia" (Papers in memory of Gerald Kelley).(Edited with Edward C. Dimock and Brah B.Kachru).Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. P.Ltd.
# 1995. (co-authored with I. Ramabrahmam, C.R. Rao). "Evaluation of Total Literacy Campaigns (Chittoor and Nizamabad Districts of Andhra Pradesh". Hyderabad: Book Links Corporation.
# 1998. "Language, Education and Society". New Delhi: Sage India Private Ltd.
# 2001. "Comparative Dravidian Linguistics: Current Perspectives". Oxford: Oxford University Press.
# 2003. "The Dravidian Languages" (Cambridge Language Surveys). Cambridge University Press.
# 2004. (with Chaganti Vijayasree) eds. "Gold Nuggets: An Anthology of Telugu Short Stories of the Post-Independence Period in Translation". New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi.

Telugu Books

# 1962. (Ed. & Comp.) "IAST|Mānṇḍalika Writtipadakōśam" (A Telugu Dialect Dictionary of Occpational Vocabularies vol. I): Agriculture Vocabulary. Hyderabad: A.P. Sahitya Akademi. (Reprinted 1974).
# 1971. (Ed.) "Tikkana padaprayōga kōśam" (A Concordance of Tikkana's mahābhārata, a literary work of the 13th Century) (with A. Ramakrishna Rao & D.V. Avadhani), Vol.I. Hyderabad: A.P.Sahitya Akademi.
# 1972. (Ed. & Comp.) "IAST|Māṇḍalika Writtipadakōśam" (A Telugu Dialect Dictionary of Occupational Vocabularies), Vol.II: Handloom Vocabulary. Hyderabad: A.P.Sahitya Akademi.
# 1974a. (Ed.) "Tikkana padaprayōga kōśam" (A Concordance of Tikkana's Māhābhārata, a literary work of the 13th Century) (with A. Ramakrishna Rao & D.V. Avadhani): Vol.II: Hyderabad: A.P. Sahitya Akademi.
# 1974b. (Ed.) "Telugu bhāSā caritra" (A History of the Telugu Language). Hyderabad: A.P. Sahitya Akademi. (2nd edition 1979; reprinted six times by Telugu University till 2006).
# 1977. (Ed.) "Tikkana padaprayōga kōśam" (A Concordance of Tikkana's Mahābhārata, a literary work of the 13th Century) (with A. Ramakrishna Rao & D.V. Avadhani), Vol.III: Hyderabad: A.P.Sahitya Akademi.
# 1980. "janawācakam" in 5 Vols (one primer and workbook, two readers and a teacher's guide for Telugu nonliterates) (co-authored with Eswara Reddy). Hyderabad: Director of Adult Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
# 1993. "Tēlika telugu wācakam" (Literacy Primer in Telugu, Parts I &II). Hyderabad: Visalandhra Publishers.
# 1996. Ed. Bhāratīya Sāhityam: "Samakālika kathānikalu" (Contemporary Indian Short Stories) [in English] (with Budaraju Radhakrishna). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi.
# 1998. "cinnanāTi padyālu" (Poems of Younger Days). Hyderabad : Author.
# 1999. "IAST|bhāSa, samājam, saṃskṛti" (Language, Society and Culture). Hyderabad : Nilkamal Publishers.

Bibliography

# "Telugu Verbal Bases: A Comparative and Descriptive Study" by Bhadriraju Krishnamurti Published 1961. University of California Press, 1961. ISBN 0608110523
# "Comparative Dravidian linguistics: Current perspectives" by Bhadriraju Krishnamurti. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0198241224.
# "The Dravidian Languages" by Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju. Cambridge University Press, 2003 ISBN 0521771110.
# "IAST|Bhāsha, samājam, saṃskṛti", 2000 ISBN 81-86804-46-3