Newspaper readers were alarmed recently by a survey that purported to show a “seismic generational gap” in the way parents and teenagers use language in social media. Professor John Sutherland, of University College London, was commissioned by Samsung to survey 2,000 parents on their understanding of the words young people use in texts and elsewhere online. Not surprisingly, the parents trailed behind.For instance, given a list of possible definitions, only 10 per cent got the correct meaning of “bae”. It’s a term of affection. Some suggest it comes from “before anyone else”. More likely, it’s an abbreviation of a word most of us find short enough already: “baby”.Other words they (and I) found puzzling were “fleek”, m