A surgery

[Italianasoitis]

I live abroad and sometimes English mother tongue expats start speaking like the natives speaking English as an additional language. I start feeling like I'm losing my mind.

The latest one is an English colleague talking about having 'a surgery'. I always thought it was either 'surgery' or 'an operation', and never the twain did mix. I had surgery. I had an operation.

Am I wrong?

You're not wrong, but it may be the commonplace way to say it in that country, so you are on a hiding to nothing.

I'm not sure really. It sounds fine when people say they've had four surgeries on their spine, for example.

No you're not wrong if you're referring to people from the UK - as you said, you either have surgery or an operation. To say that you've had A surgery is an Americanism and is incorrect usage in the UK.

To say that you've had A surgery is an Americanism and is incorrect usage in the UK.

It's not an Americanism. Americans say "an operation."

It's very common for people who've lived in a country for a long time to experience L2 interference into L1. Sometimes it's because they've been hearing and using L2 so long that words and usage sneaks in. Syntax errors as well.

Otherwise, it's often not even done unconsciously, but rather on purpose to communicate a message faster.

I tell my class we're going to "recoup" their hours. Or we're going to have a "recoup".

I know that that's not what we say in English. So do they. It's just a contextual expedient which serves a purpose.

Or 'a procedure' .

Yes, a "procedure" is common usage in the US for an operation. It's a bit of a joke in my family because years ago, we were dining in a very posh restaurant with my mother where men were required to wear ties. It was the kind of place where they actually had ties and jackets for men to borrow if they came without. My brother was wearing a jacket but no tie. When they tried to get him to wear one of the borrowed ties, he pointed to his neck and said "Can't do it; I've had a little procedure." So now that's what men in my family say whenever they don't want to wear a tie.

That's is incorrect in the UK. We would say I have had four operations on my spine. Or four surgical interventions never four surgeries. A surgery is a doctors office so to me" I've had four surgeries on my spine" sounds as though someone is lying underneath four doctors offices!.

A surgery is a place where doctors work. Surgery is operations.

Native speaker in the UK here. I would always say I'd had an operation rather than surgery, but if I had to use the word surgery I'd say I'd had surgery, not a surgery. Until I read this thread I'd always thought that surgery as a count noun was American, unless you're talking about a doctor's workplace. I've certainly never heard it in any of the English regions I've lived in.