I'm thinking "may-tie" ? I suppose I could just say "asian baby carrier" but I suspect that's much more of a mouthful than Mei Tai! :)
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I'm thinking "may-tie" ? I suppose I could just say "asian baby carrier" but I suspect that's much more of a mouthful than Mei Tai! :)
If "mei tai" is pinyin (a transliteration system used for Mandarin Chinese), you have it right. That's as good a guess as I can give you, though.
I always say "My Tie"
I don't know if it's right, though...
~ deb
DS 12/03
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/10029.gif
I have always referred to it as "my tie" but I have heard others call it "may tie." I think the latter might be correct because isn't the former an alcoholic beverage? :D Hehehe.
Angie
LOL, that's what my DH said about "my tie." :)
I talked to my Chinese speaking SIL and she said that if the word is Chinese, (and it sounded like it to her) that it was prounced "may-tie" and meant "in a charming manner."
When I purchased mine off the Equanimity Baby website (now closed), their site said to pronounce it "may-tie" so that's how I've always pronounced it.
Is it Mandarin or other Chinese dialects? I speak Mandarin and am very curious what Mei Tai means, and how to write them in Chinese characters. I've seen this type of carrier all over my country, but no body calls them Mei Tai. Instead, it's called Bei Tai (bay tie), meaning carrying straps (or pouch).
Scratching my head in curiosity... :)
Kate
Mama to Maya 2-17-02 and Polo (my big black dog http://www.mothering.com/discussions...milies/dog.gif
and "baby bear" (a BOY) due 5-11-05
http://lilypie.com/days/050511/0/12/1/-5/.png
Kate,
I speak cantonese and my Mom pronounces it **Mei Dye**.
Sandy mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02
and another peanut edd 4/21/05
Kate,
My SIL speaks Mandarin, but she's not by any means a native speaker. (And used her dictionary for a definition, not personal experience/knowledge, so her translation may be a little off.)
Here's a thread about pronounciation that I found on MDC: [http://www.mothering.com/discussions...light=mei+tai]. I thought it was interesting. It sheds a bit more light on things...
This is fun :) I'm interested in getting a mei tai for the new baby and for the life of me, just can't figure out the pronunciation and chinese charactors (before reading this post). It's a weird feeling, because I know what it is in Mandarin, but the spelling doesn't make sense to me. A google search didn't tell me anything, either. That's why I suspect it's not Mandarin, but maybe a dialect, like Cantonese.
Now it's getting better...
Karen, from the thread on MDC, it says "tai" pronounced as "dye", which means "straps, a pouch, or to carry" (that's what a Mandarin speaker would say, too). Sandy, your mom pronounces it like "may dye", right? So...it's possible that it's Cantonese! Just like when people say "dim sum", they're actually speaking Cantonese, but thought it's Chinese or Mandarin.
Sandy, do you know what "mei" means in Cantonese? It's like the last piece of the puzzle :)
Ok, time to figure out which Mei Tai to try...
Kate
Mama to Maya 2-17-02 and Polo (my big black dog http://www.mothering.com/discussions...milies/dog.gif
and "baby bear" (a BOY) due 5-11-05
http://lilypie.com/days/050511/0/12/1/-5/.png