A local variety of the
Hunsrückisch dialect (see:
West Germanic languages) has been spoken and is part of the history of this region since pioneer days starting almost two centuries ago. Hunsrückisch is a co-official language of this municipality. Elsewhere, mostly in the western part of Santa Catarina state, but especially in the neighboring state of
Rio Grande do Sul, the predominant German dialect is the
Riograndenser Hunsrückisch variety of the same language group. (See also:
Pennsylvania German language, a mutually intelligible variety of German spoken in the
United States and
Canada).
^"Divisão Territorial do Brasil" (in Portuguese). Divisão Territorial do Brasil e Limites Territoriais, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2009.