Belkassem Ben Sedira

Belkassem Ben Sedira, born in Biskra on November 30, 1844 and died in Sidi M'Hamed on November 30, 1901, was a professor at the Higher School of Letters in Algiers, writer and researcher in Darija (the Algerian Arabic dialect), during the French presence in Algeria.

Family
Ben Sdira's family is of Chaoui origin from Biskra.

Biography
Between 1860 and 1863, Belkassem obtained a scholarship and was sent by the Governor General Edmond-Charles de Martimprey to the École Normale in Versailles. The young 21-year-old Ben Sdira was appointed as a professor at the École Normale in Algiers.

In 1882, Belkassem was appointed to the Court of Appeal because of his knowledge of local customs and his mastery of Arabic with its different variants and Berber languages. He was the author of several works to popularize Algerian Arabic and Kabyle.

He began studying Kabyle and the Kabylie region in 1886, after being tasked by Governor General Louis Tirman to collect tales, riddles, fables, songs, and legends from the region and to facilitate the study of the Kabyle language, near the Kabyle tribes of Djurdjura and the Soummam Valley. Belkassem Ben Sedira was among the first to use Latin characters to transcribe the Kabyle language.

He is the grandfather of singer Leïla Ben Sedira ..

Honors

 * Commandeur de l'ordre du Nichan Iftikhar
 * Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur en 1893

Writings