THe use of Yukaghir languages is "strongly connected with the traditional activities of the population, and is typically practised only in the taiga during hunting and fishing, and on the tundra during reindeer herding." The Kolyma Yukaghir language is considered to be almost one generation further along the road to dormancy than the Tundra Yukaghir language.

"The Yukaghir languages have no official status and fulfill limited functions. They are not used in legislation, business, theater, religious ceremonies or the mass media, except for occasional broadcasts on local radio."

An orthography was created in the 1970s/80s by linguist and author Gavril Kurilov, a native speaker of Tundra Yukaghir. The writing system uses the Cyrillic alphabet with some additional symbols. In 1987, it was accepted as the official Yukaghir orthography by the Yakut Ministry of Education.

In Nelemnoye, Kolyma Yukaghir is used for everyday communication. However, for all Yukaghirs under 60 their first language is Russian (although they may have learned Yukaghir from their parents). The youngest generation is "practically monolingual" in Russian.

Russian is the language of education. Although Yukaghir has been taught in schools since the mid-80s, the language situation has not changed significantly.

among the two extant Yukagiric languages, Forest Yukagir seems to be dying even more rapidly than Tundra Yukagir

degree of speakers' competence: mainly rudimentary, with massive multilingualism

Attempts are currently being made to create a written standard (in Cyrillic script, with either Russian or Yakut-based orthographical principles) for both Tundra Yukagir and Forest Yukagir.