ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the effects of poverty on language development, subsequent outcomes, interventions and research initiatives, and some possible solutions. The effects of poverty on development can be categorised into five components: physical, psychological, emotional, sociological and educational. Physical aspects can be subdivided into prenatal, perinatal and postnatal categories. Some of the sociological, emotional and psychological factors include increased mental illness and behavioural problems, poor school performance, delinquency, increased teenage pregnancy, increased school dropout and increased risk of suicide. The effects of poverty on language development, in particular, have been carefully explored and assessed because language is one of the most important determinants of a child's social, emotional and academic competence. The influences of poverty on children and their language have generated a large body of literature and some changes in national public policy. The outcomes of impoverished children without intervention help formulate and produce many intervention strategies.
