Identity

Identity has been borrowed into Turkish from the Arabic word huwiyya(t) (هويّة). This term is derived from the Arabic third person singular pronoun huwa (“he”). The fundamental meaning of the word is “identity, essence, what a thing is.” In early usage it was predominantly employed in the sense of “nature, essential being”; over time it also acquired the bureaucratic meaning of “identity document.”

• Everyday Language: Used to express a person’s identity or personal characteristics.
• Official and Bureaucratic Language: Refers to identity documents, identifying papers and official records.
• Literature and Philosophical Writing: Used to describe the characteristic features of a society, an individual or a structure.
• Philosophy and Thought: Used to denote the essence, true nature and intrinsic character of a being.
• Sufism and Religious Texts: Used to express concepts such as divine truth, absolute existence and spiritual essence.
• Sociology and Cultural Studies: Preferred for explaining concepts of social, cultural or national identity.