In the 1940s, the Brazilian president, Getulio Vargas, came up with a nationalization campaign to try and force non-Portuguese speakers who lived in Brazil to integrate into the Brazilian culture. To this effect, everyone was forbidden from speaking Brazilian Veneto in public places such as educational institutions and the media. This resulted in the stigmatization of the language up to now, even though the order was revoked in 2009. Despite the stigmatization, by 2006, the language was being spoken by 4 million people. Brazilians of Italian descent make up 15 percent of the total Brazilian population. Most of them are located in Caxias do Sul, San Paolo, Nova Venezia, Porto Alegre, Criciuma, Bento Goncalves, Garibaldi, Nova Trento, Belo Horizonte, Vila Velha e Santa Teresa and Venda Nova do Imigrante.
Brazilian Veneto is also known as Talian. This is a dialect of the Venetian language. Talian comes from the Venetan pronunciation of Italiano. It is mainly spoken in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Soul as well as in the neighboring states of Santana Catarina. Currently, the language holds a co-official status with Portuguese in Rio Grande do Sou. The Venetian language found its way into Brazil through Italian immigrants from Venetia. Talian is not derived from Italian, rather, it is a combination of various Venetian dialects, mixed with dialects from North Italy and Portuguese. Currently, most Brazilians with Italian ancestry speak Portuguese, which is the national language of Brazil.
There are many reasons why the Italian people chose to leave Veneto and settle in Brazil. The main reason was poverty and the desire to own land by the rural population. Most of the land in Italy, at that time, belonged to a few rich land owners. The immigrants chose Brazil as their destination due to the availability of vast land, which they could farm and populate. Also, at that time, Brazil shifted from a monarchy to republic. This essentially meant that Brazilian farmers had control of their farms and they needed employees to help maintain their coffee farms. The Italians were able to mingle and become part of Brazilian life despite the numerous challenges and prejudices they faced.
