The oldest text of poetry in the Algerian language known as Melhoun poetry that has come down to us dates from the 16th century; therefore, the appearance of this art in our region coincided exactly with the beginnings of the Turkish regency and its texts have, quite naturally, kept the linguistic, historical and mental traces of three centuries of Ottoman presence.In this work, we are going to reread the texts of our popular poets in order to see first of all the influence of the ottoman language on the Algerian Arabic dialect through the borrowings made from the turkish language in popular poetry and their meanings. In a second part, we will note how these same poets represented the image of the Turks after being very early impressed by their power. The texts reveal three characteristics specific to these new leaders of the nation: the nobility of demeanor sometimes marred by a pronounced taste for drunkenness, excessive pride and brutality.We will see, finally, through some texts relating the great conflicts that opposed the Arabs and the Turks, the relationship between the latter and the local population as they appear in these polemical texts (in the sense of war and conflict) and the point of view of popular poets.

Keywords :

Melhoun, popular poetry, representations, Turks, Algeria.

Ahmed Amine DELLAÏ - أحمد أمين دلاي