# Ervah-ı ezelden levh-i kalemden



## sound shift

"Ervah-ı ezelden levh-i kalemden" is the first line of a folk song. I would be grateful if someone could clarify the meaning of those words. Apparently, this is about the eternity of the soul, but I can't find "ervah" or "ezel" in the dictionary. Also, "vh" seems an unusual combination of letters. Is "levh" a Turkish word?


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## Rallino

Ervah is the plural of "ruh", soul. It follows the same pattern in the words: varak-evrak, velet-evlat, cet-ecdat, cüz-ecza, şey-eşya, etc.
Ervah-ı ezel = the souls of the time immemorial.

Levh isn't a word in use in Turkish, or at least I've never heard of it. We use "levha", meaning a plaque or a sheet of metal.
Levh-i kalem = the pen that wrote what has come to be and what is yet to come, like destiny, I guess. I had to google this.


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## sound shift

Thanks.

Does this mean that it's not possible to use "ruhlar" as the plural of "souls"? Does "ervah" show Arabic influence?


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## Rallino

Yes, ervah is not a word in active use.


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## Cahittinsan

Rallino said:


> Ervah is the plural of "ruh", soul. It follows the same pattern in the words: varak-evrak, velet-evlat, cet-ecdat, cüz-ecza, şey-eşya, etc.
> Ervah-ı ezel = the souls of the time immemorial.
> 
> Levh isn't a word in use in Turkish, or at least I've never heard of it. We use "levha", meaning a plaque or a sheet of metal.
> Levh-i kalem = the pen that wrote what has come to be and what is yet to come, like destiny, I guess. I had to google this.


I used the ervah. .
Ervah and Levh are Ottoman language but we used very rarely. .


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## Erbab

I have never used "ervah" in my life.  Knowing actual meanings of those words is not a bad thing, however as a non-native speaker, you should not forget that if you are not a turkish literature teacher, it is not possible for you to know the meaning of those words. Because they are related to the sufi literature strongly coming under the influence of arabic and persian languages.

As a native speaker, I only know meanings of "ezel" and "kalem" there.


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## sound shift

Erbab said:


> I have never used "ervah" in my life.  Knowing actual meanings of those words is not a bad thing, however as a non-native speaker, you should not forget that if you are not a turkish literature teacher, it is not possible for you to know the meaning of those words. Because they are related to the sufi literature strongly coming under the influence of arabic and persian languages.
> 
> As a native speaker, I only know meanings of "ezel" and "kalem" there.


I'm not sure I follow you.

Are you saying that only a teacher of Turkish literature can understand those words, or are you saying that only people with a knowledge of Sufism can understand those words?


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## Erbab

An average Turkish literature teacher is familiar with Sufism, because they should know the history of literary language. Since the Sufi Literature was common among some parts of the community during the period of Ottoman Empire, teachers are supposed to have enough knowledge of grammar and vocabulary to be able to read literary outputs influenced by Sufism.

Of course you do not have to be a literature teacher to understand those words. Any person who has a special interest in Sufism can be familiar with them.

The point is that you do not need to memorize their meanings because they will not help you speak natural Turkish. You will never use them in both spoken and written language. However, it is a good thing to learn new things. I do not mean you should not learn them.


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## sound shift

Very interesting. Thank you very much.


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