(p. 1) a a.1. The first letter of the Telugu alphabet as of many others. Hence the phrase అ ఆలు formed like the word 'alphabet' from the first two letters in the series, means the whole of the Tel. alphabet. See ఓనమాలు and వర్ణమాల. అకారము is the letter or sound of a, the term కారము being added to each letter in naming it. అకారాదిగా beginning with the letter అ seriatim, i.e., in alphabetical order. The letter అ has the same shape as the Eng. 'A' reversed. but is quite rounded off, and represents like its Semitic prototype 'the horns of an ox' (Taylor.) The stroke / called తలకట్టు tala-kaṭṭu and placed over many consonants is popularly, though by mistake as pointed out by Burnell, taken to be the secondary form of అ. The letter అ has the same sound as the Eng. a in 'around.' 'delta','Victoria. ' It is the 'low-back-wide vowel formed by the jaws, pharynx and lips wide open' and is supposed to be inherent in consonants -- e. g., in బ b, ల l, జ j.
