Jimeoin had a bit years ago where he talked about the three kinds of 'mate' there were. There's the short, clipped 'mate' for when you're pissed off (oh, mate, got a parking ticket). There's the medium 'mate' when you see your friend arrive at the pub (maate, maate, how are ya). And the long 'mate'... for when you're about to ask to borrow something (maaaaaaaaaaayte...) :)