Baby's face composed of Polish consonants, representing language learning.

Unlocking Language: How Babies Defy Expectations in Learning Polish

Beau Callahan in Mind & Education August 2025 • 5 min read.

"New research reveals that infants learning Polish overcome complex linguistic hurdles, challenging existing theories of language acquisition."

The way children learn languages has always been a fascinating area of study, filled with questions about what is innate and what is learned. For years, experts have debated whether babies are born with a basic understanding of language rules or if they pick everything up from what they hear. Recent studies are diving deeper, looking at how kids handle languages that don't quite fit the standard rules, and the results are pretty interesting.

One key concept in language is the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP). Imagine this principle as a guideline that dictates how sounds should flow in a syllable, typically rising in loudness (sonority) towards the middle of the syllable (the vowel) and decreasing towards the end. So, a word like 'play' is easier to pronounce and understand because it follows this pattern. Many languages tend to stick to this principle, and it was thought that babies might expect language to follow it.

But what happens when a language doesn’t play by these rules? That’s where Polish comes in. Polish is known for having consonant clusters that break the sonority rule, like starting words with multiple consonants that don't naturally flow from quieter to louder. A recent study investigated how babies learning Polish cope with these rule-breaking sounds, offering new insights into how flexible and smart young language learners really are.

Defying the Rules: Polish and the Sonority Sequencing Principle

Baby's face composed of Polish consonants, representing language learning.

The Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) isn't just a fancy term linguists throw around; it reflects a universal tendency in how syllables are structured across languages. It suggests that syllables prefer a clear rise in sonority (the quality of being loud and clear) from the beginning to the nucleus (usually a vowel) and a fall from the nucleus to the end. Think of it like a natural crescendo and diminuendo within each syllable. However, Polish, with its complex consonant clusters, often ignores this principle, presenting a unique challenge for infants learning the language.

While languages like English, Mandarin, and Korean generally adhere to the SSP, Polish stands out. In English, for example, initial consonant clusters usually follow the SSP (like 'blue,' where the sonority increases). But Polish is full of words that begin with sound combinations that create 'sonority plateaus' or even decreases, challenging the conventional wisdom about what makes a syllable easy to pronounce and learn. This makes Polish an ideal test case to understand if and how infants adjust their learning strategies when faced with atypical sound patterns.

The study highlighted several key findings:

Polish defies the SSP: The structure of the Polish language often contradicts the Sonority Sequencing Principle, favoring sonority plateaus over the expected sonority rises.
Models fail to predict: Existing language models successful with other languages couldn't predict language patterns for Polish.
Children show sensitivity: Despite the language's structure, children learning Polish still show a sensitivity to the SSP, preferring onset clusters with larger sonority rises.

To really dig into this, researchers used a detailed collection of child-directed speech in Polish—basically, recordings of adults talking to kids. They looked at how often different sound combinations appeared and then compared this to how accurately children produced those sounds. What they discovered was quite telling: even though Polish doesn’t always follow the sonority rules, the babies still seemed to prefer and more accurately produce sound combinations that did.

The Bigger Picture: What Does This Mean for Language Learning?

This study on Polish-learning babies does more than just highlight an interesting quirk of a single language. It challenges the idea that babies come pre-programmed to expect all languages to follow a neat set of rules like the SSP. Instead, it shows that they are incredibly adaptable, able to pick up on subtle patterns and preferences even when the overall language structure is a bit chaotic. This suggests that language learning is a much more dynamic and nuanced process than previously thought.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1017/s0952675717000148, Alternate LINK

Title: Defying The Stimulus: Acquisition Of Complex Onsets In Polish

Subject: Linguistics and Language

Journal: Phonology

Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)

Authors: Gaja Jarosz

Published: 2017-08-01

Everything You Need To Know

What is the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP), and how does it relate to language learning?

The Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) is a guideline that dictates how sounds should flow in a syllable, usually rising in loudness toward the vowel and decreasing towards the end. Many languages adhere to this, making words easier to pronounce and understand. However, Polish frequently violates the SSP with its complex consonant clusters.

Why does learning Polish present a unique challenge for infants compared to languages like English or Mandarin?

Polish presents a unique challenge because it often ignores the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP). Unlike languages where sonority increases towards the middle of a syllable, Polish has many words that begin with sound combinations creating 'sonority plateaus' or decreases. This challenges what is conventionally considered easy to pronounce and learn, making Polish a valuable test case for understanding how infants adjust their language learning strategies.

What key findings emerged from the study on how babies learning Polish cope with violations of the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP)?

The study revealed that even though the Polish language often defies the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP), children learning Polish still show a sensitivity to it. They prefer and more accurately produce sound combinations that align with the SSP, demonstrating an adaptability to subtle language patterns even when the broader language structure is chaotic. This also shows that existing language models successful with languages that adhere to the SSP, could not predict language patterns in Polish.

How does this study challenge existing ideas about how babies learn languages and their expectations regarding language rules like the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP)?

This challenges the idea that babies are pre-programmed to expect all languages to follow strict rules like the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP). It indicates that language learning is dynamic and nuanced, and infants can adapt to pick up subtle language patterns, even when the overall language structure is chaotic. This challenges existing theories of language acquisition and the innate genius of infant language learning.

How did researchers investigate the language patterns, and what further research could be done to build upon these findings regarding the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP)?

Researchers recorded adults speaking to children in Polish and analyzed the frequency of different sound combinations, comparing this to how accurately children produced those sounds. They found that babies still preferred and more accurately produced sound combinations that followed the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP), even though Polish often breaks this principle. Further research could investigate how these early preferences influence later language development and literacy skills in Polish-speaking children.