"[Speaker numbers are] declining very quickly. Most people in the village assume that children can’t understand Yeri. Although Yeri can be used to address children, Tok Pisin is more predominantly used to talk to children. Maybe 40-50%% of the village speaks Yeri pretty well. A smaller portion speaks it fluently. A larger portion can speak at least some Yeri or has passive knowledge of the language. Yeri is mostly used between older speakers (regardless of whether they’re at home or walking around in the village) or to tell traditional narratives. It’s also frequently used in combination with Tok Pisin."

"When older Yeri speakers converse with speakers of nearby languages, the choice of language is complex. When they converse with younger speakers, the default choice appears to be Tok Pisin. Younger speakers in the area (Yeri or other languages) have less competence in the minority languages of the area. When older Yeri speakers converse with older speakers from other villages, they may use Yeri, Tok Pisin, or the other speaker’s language depending on the competence of both speakers. For example, it’s common for older Yeri speakers to also speak the language of their mother if their mother came from another village, and Tok Pisin. The conversation may consist of both speakers using Yeri, both speakers using Tok Pisin, or both speakers using the other language. It’s also common for the Yeri speaker to speak Yeri and the other speaker to speak their own language. The choice of language appears to be determined by the language competencies of both speakers and a mixture of other sociolinguistic factors.

In general it’s easier to point out the domains in which Tok Pisin is predominantly used. Tok
Pisin is used in church and in public forums (e.g. weekly discussions about village plans and
such in an informal plaza)."

The language is under pressure from neighbouring related larger languages, such as Aiku, its southern neighbour.

No literacy

"Endangered (2000 S. Wurm). Under pressure from Palei languages (Wurm 2007). Most adults over the age of 30 (2014 M. Dryer)."