Țara Oașului

The Oaș patois (oșenεștɪ) belongs to the Romanian language, Transylvanian subdialect and is spoken in the ethnographic area Țara Oașului, situated on the north-western corner of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. Its speakers are called Oșeni (Hung. Vasáyok). The Oaș idiom can be found in the villages from Țara Oașului, situated in Satu Mare county
(Cămărzana, Târșolt, Boinești, Bixad, Negrești Oaș, Racșa, Vama, Prilog, Călinești, Lechința, Certeze Moișeni, Turț, Gherța Mică, Gherța Mare, Bătarci, Comlăușa, Bocicău, Șirlău, Tarna Mare).
The Oaş patois was used until the beginning of the 21st century, as with the mixed Ukrainian-Romanian village Хи́жа (Rom. Hija, Tarna Mică) from Ukraine. There is also a considerable number of speakers in European countries such as Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, most of whom emigrated after 1990.

The Oaș patois also kept distinctive and archaic features, such as with other idioms of the Romanians from Transylvania, due to the remoteness of this hill region. Even within the Oaș idiom, there are two main varieties.