Ever notice how people fail to enunciate some place names? Even folks who speak clear English are at times guilty of slurring speech.

Sure, our city’s name is Albert Lea, but how often is the “t” pronounced? It rolls off the tongue like “Alber Lea.” Sometimes, people forget the “r,” too, and just say “Alba Lea.”

“Where do you live?”

“Alba Lea. How about you?”

“Blurth, but I grew up in Otonna.”

“Heck, I’ve been in Alba Lea all my life, ’cept when I lived in Har’lan’ for three years with my ex-wife. She now lives in Haywer.”

In fact, there is a manhole cover on Winter Street near the corner with Autumn Avenue that actually says “Alber Lea.” When I noticed it last October, I couldn’t believe it. Who proofreads these manhole covers? Hee hee.

There are many “Minnasoda” cities worthy of slurred speech. You probably figured out that “Blurth” is Blue Earth. Personnally, that’s my favorite contracted name for a city. “Otanna” is Owatonna. “Har’lan’” is Hartland, and “Haywer” is Hayward.

Here are some more I’ve noticed:

“Nulm” for New Ulm.

“Sane Paul” for Saint Paul.

“Brainud” for Brainerd.

“Litta Foss” for Little Falls.

“Pry a Lake” for Prior Lake.

“Legville” for Lakeville.

“Mape a Grove” for Maple Grove.

“Or Unville” for Ortonville.

“Mannerville” for Mantorville.

“The Friva Foss” for Thief River Falls.

Of course, it’s also humorous when I talk over the telephone to folks from places such as New York who have never heard Albert Lea’s pronunciation. They get the “Albert” right but they want to say “Leah.”

“Hi, are you the editor for the Albert, um, uh, Leah Tribune?”

“It’s pronounced Lea, like Lee jeans.”

“That’s a funny way to spell it.”

“Not really. Lee is spelled many ways. Have you ever had Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce or steak sauce?”

“Yes.”

“That company spells it L-E-A, just like Albert Lea does.”

“Oh yeah.”

“And have you ever heard of the actress Jennifer Jason Leigh?”

“Sure.”

“She spells it L-E-I-G-H. And I have a friend who spells it L-Y and pronounces it like Lee. Her name is Lin Ly. I’ve even seen folks spell the name L-I. There are many ways to spell it.”

“I guess I never thought about that.”

“Well, you probably had never called Albert Lea before, either.”

“That’s true.”

Here are some trivia concerning the name Lea (trivia is a plural noun, you meddling English majors):

LEA is the New York Stock Exchange symbol for the Lear Corp., a maker of automotive components based in Southfield, Mich.

LEA is an acronym for the Lutheran Education Association, an organization for Lutherans who are educators.

Lea Industries is based in Greensboro, N.C., and it makes children’s furniture. It is owned by La-Z-Boy Inc.

LEA is often an abbreviation for “law enforcement agency.”

Darrell Lea is an Australian company that makes chocolates. It is a private company owned by a family with the last name of Lea. It was started by Harry Lea in Sydney in 1927.

Like Col. Albert Miller Lea, Lea is found as a surname. During the Civil War, he was in the Confederate Army. His son, Edward Lea, was in the Union Navy during that war. Edward died during the Confederate recapture of Galveston, and the USS Lea, a destroyer used during World War I and World War II, is named for him. Homer Lea was an American who became a military adviser to Sun Yat-sen in China. Thomas Calloway Lea Jr. was mayor of El Paso, Texas, from 1915 to 1917. Pryor Lea was a congressman from Tennessee from 1827 to 1831. Luke Lea was a Democratic senator from Tennessee from 1911 to 1917, and his great-grandfather, also Luke Lea, was a congressman from Tennessee from 1833 to 1839, changing from Democrat to Whig in 1837. Brandin Lea is the lead singer of Texas rock band Flickerstick. The band was featured in VH1’s “Bands on the Run” show. Jim Lea played several instruments and backing vocals in the English rock band Slade. Nicholas Lea is a Canadian actor known for playing Alex Krycek on “The X-Files.”

Lea is sometimes a female first name: Lea Quezada is an R&B singer from New York. Lea Michele is a Broadway singer who grew up in New Jersey. Lea Massari is an Italian actress. Lea DeLaria is a comedian from Illinois who is particarly well-known in the world of lesbian stand-up comedy. She performs jazz, too. Lea Hernandez is an American comic book creator who draws in a Japanese style. Lea Walker was a housemate on the TV show “Big Brother” in 2006.

Lea is a settlement in the county of Darbyshire, England. There is another Lea in the county of Wiltshire, England. Lea, but pronounced “Leah,” is a suburb of the city of Preston in the Amber Valley borough in the county of Lancashire in England.

The River Lee flows through 42 miles in southern England until it enters the River Thames, but it often is spelled the River Lea, particularly the farther you go upstream. I tend to think folks upstream are smarter than folks downstream. Here in Freeborn County, we are upstream of several rivers and creeks: Shell Rock, Big Cobb, Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Lime, Turtle, among others.

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.