Introduction to the Five Front Vowel Color-Coded Pronunciation System Newcastle Language Systems
Linguist and Pronunciation Specialist Jack Newcastle introduces the five front vowels of General American English and his color-coded, 5-Zone method to produce them. Learners wishing to correctly produce the sounds need to watch this video BEFORE watching the lessons on the vowel pairs.
The Method: "Front Vowels" are those produced with the tongue pushed toward the front of the mouth. They are /i/, /ɪ/, /eɪ/, /ɛ/, and /æ/. To help learners distinguish them from each other, Newcastle Language System has created a 5-Zone, 5-Color system that links each of these vowels to a Zone/Color combination. They are as follows:
/i/- Zone 1 / Green
/ɪ/ - Zone 2 / Tin
/eɪ/ - Zone 3 / Grape
/ɛ/ - Zone 4 / YEllow
/æ/ - Zone 5 / LAvendar
Jack also introduces learners to his "staircase" method, which prepares them for the individual vowel lessons and exercises.