The personality of the Terres de l'Ebre

When the provincial divisions were defined during the 19th century, some Catalan territories were divided from one side to the other, such as Aran, the area of ​​La Seu d'Urgell, and what we now know as Terres de l' Ebre. With its capital in Tortosa, it was an eternal contender to become the fifth province: "La Quinta!" its residents proudly claimed.

Today, Terres de l'Ebre has the status of a supra-region, also known as a region or veguería, a territorial division located halfway between the province of Tarragona and the four regions that comprise it, according to the republican division of Pau Vila: Baix Ebre, Montsià, Terra Alta and Ribera d'Ebre.

As reflected in the survey of linguistic uses, it is the territory where the most Catalan is spoken.

The reasons why the personality of these Ebre lands goes beyond that of other areas are diverse but well-established. It has long had its own name, which apparently comes from the novel Terres de l'Ebre by the writer Sebastià Juan Arbó, published in 1932. And in 2016, the Institut d' Estudis Catalans added the term " Ebrenc" to its dictionary with these two definitions (I translate): "1. Relating to or belonging to the Ebro or to places near its course. 2. Native to the territory comprising the municipalities of southern Catalonia and those of the southern Strip, whose waters are tributaries of the Ebro." Needless to say, the adjective had already been in use for years, with names such as the Ebrenc Book Fair.

Regarding the geodialectal variant spoken there, the Terres de l'Ebre and those of northern Valencia are known in dialectology as "transitional dialects." That is, like the waters collected by the Ebro River from its tributaries until they reach the sea, these regions are the crossroads of eastern and western Catalan, and of northwestern and Valencian, an exquisite explosion of flavors.

Another linguistic factor worth highlighting about Terres de l'Ebre is that it is the territory in Catalonia where Catalan reaches the highest percentage of speakers in terms of the concept of "majority habitual language," exceeding two-thirds of speakers, far above other areas, which, if lucky, reach half. One of the conclusions repeated in every survey on linguistic usage is that Terres de l'Ebre is the territory where the most Catalan is spoken.

By the way, the place name Ebro is an evolution of Iberian, the ancient people who populated these lands and gave their name to the Peninsula. Its meaning is simply river. Therefore, saying "Ebro River" is a bit redundant.