> I don't understand how the author wants to pronounce it. "ag-ay"?
More or less. In the technical specifics, the English FACE vowel is a diphthong ending at a pretty high point ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel#Height ), whereas the indicated pronunciation is a monophthong that should be a bit lower.
You might think of the English vowels in FACE / PRICE / CHOICE / GOAT / MOUTH as being "closed off" by a rapid upward tongue movement towards the end of their pronunciation; what the author is asking for here is a version of "FACE" that doesn't have that closure. Or, alternatively, a version of DRESS [which is already a monophthong] that uses a bit higher of a tongue position.
More or less. In the technical specifics, the English FACE vowel is a diphthong ending at a pretty high point ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel#Height ), whereas the indicated pronunciation is a monophthong that should be a bit lower.
You might think of the English vowels in FACE / PRICE / CHOICE / GOAT / MOUTH as being "closed off" by a rapid upward tongue movement towards the end of their pronunciation; what the author is asking for here is a version of "FACE" that doesn't have that closure. Or, alternatively, a version of DRESS [which is already a monophthong] that uses a bit higher of a tongue position.