[Purrybonker]

Here in the wild, wild west (north) we say shaps in referring to those leather garments that are worn to protect the legs when riding bulls, horses or bikes.

Lately, I've repeatedly heard them referred to as chaps on American TV. Is this a misnomer on the part of uninformed TV personalities or just another example of bastardization of the english language?

"Chaps" are shaps unless you happen to be making reference to a couple of blokes in the local pub.