Wrong use of ‘galvanise’

THE EDITOR: Why do newspaper and television reporters refer to roofing material as “galvanise?” The word is sometimes even used as an adjective eg a “galvanise” hut, a “galvanise” shed. The word “galvanise” is neither a noun nor an adjective but a verb, one of the meanings of which is to coat with zinc to prevent rusting. Given that 50 percent of the students who did English at ordinary level flunked the exam, it is quite possible that one of the subjects for essay writing was “Hurricanes” and, misled by newspaper and televisions reports, they erroneously wrote about sheets of “galvanise” flying through the air during the storm. The correct term for a unit of roofing material is “a sheet of galvanise iron.” When it is wrinkled to prevent bending, it becomes “a corrugated sheet of galvanised iron.”

RAOUL DUCHAUSSEE