"...[I]t appears that the viability of the Budukh language is low. While Budukh is still spoken in the mountain villages, even there a number of individuals use Azerbaijani in the domain of the home. In the plains communities, where a majority of Budukhs live, Azerbaijani is already the main language of communication; children and young adults are not learning Budukh. In the towns, some Budukh adults may understand the vernacular, but most do not speak the language well."

"Widespread bilingualism in Azerbaijani is also consistently reported, even among
those who still speak Budukh. Everyone in Buduq village, except for some of the elderly
women, are said to speak Azerbaijani fluently. Alekseev (1994) also reports good
command of Russian among adults from Buduq."

Azerbaijani is the language of instruction in schooling for all of schooling.

"No official alphabet has been created, and no written materials have been developed in the Budukh language."

"Budugh [Budukh] is an unwritten language belonging to the Lezgic branch of the Daghestanian family."

"Our findings indicate that the Budukh language is under enormous
pressure. Both Budukh and Azerbaijani are used in the domain of the home even in the core village of Buduq. While only a small percentage of families do not use Budukh within the family, at least half are said to use both Azerbaijani and Budukh within the family. This could indicate a gradual shift from Budukh to Azerbaijani, though it is not definitive since a significant percentage of the children do learn to speak Budukh. School officials in Buduq village claim that 40%% of children do not understand or use Azerbaijani upon entering school, indicating that Budukh is still the primary language in a significant number of homes in the mountain communities."

"The reported language use patterns among the Budukh living in the
plains indicate a loss of the vernacular among the younger generation there. It is clear that for Budukhs who move down to the plains, Budukh is no longer an important language of daily interaction. Instead, Azerbaijani has become the main language of interpersonal communication and family life. Adults over 30 years of age know how to speak Budukh well, and may speak it sometimes with one another, but Azerbaijani is the main language of daily interaction."

"Perhaps the lack of effort among the Budukh community to develop
and encourage the study of the Budukh language in the schools could be a sign that, generally speaking, Budukhs do not consider proficiency in the vernacular to be an integral part of Budukh ethnic identity. Our research indicates that the self-identity of the Budukh is tied less to their language and more to their history. A number of Budukh we interviewed readily identified themselves as Budukh, even though they do not speak the vernacular as their first language."

"While the current policy of the Azerbaijani Republic encourages the development of less-widely used languages, there has not been a sustained effort to develop an official alphabet, publish materials in the vernacular, or institute Budukh literacy classes."

Azerbaijani is used in writing.