[7] Oirat-speaking areas are scattered across the far west of Mongolia,[8] the northwest of China[8] and Russia's Caspian coast, where its major variety is Kalmyk.

[8] In all three countries, Oirat has become variously endangered or even obsolescent as a direct result of government actions or as a consequence of social and economic policies.

The Alasha dialect in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, originally belonged to Oirat[12] and has been classified as such by some because of its phonology.

[13] The Darkhad dialect in Mongolia's Khövsgöl Province has variously been classified as Oirat, Mongolian proper, or (less often) Buryat.

In practice the people use neither and resort to learning Mandarin Chinese and using hànzì to communicate with others in China.