The English language is evolving at a faster rate now than at any other time in history because of social media and instant messaging, a language expert has said.
His study into common social media and "text speak" terms found that most parents were baffled by the language used by their children, with 86 per cent of parents saying their children spoke an entirely different language on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Professor John Sutherland from University College London is the UK's leading English expert, and he says there is a "seismic generational gap" between the older and younger generations when it comes to how modern informal language is used.
Terms such as "fleek" and "bae" were found to be the most commonly confused by parents, with just 10 per cent of the 2,000 surveyed being able to identify the true meaning of "bae" - a term of affection.
"Fleek" - which means looking good - came top of the list of terms parents did not understand, with 43 per cent selecting it as a term they did not know.
This was ahead of FOMO (fear of missing out) and bae, both of which were selected by 40 per cent of parents.
Popular social media acronyms ICYMI (in case you missed it), TBT (throwback Thursday) and NSFW (not safe for work) also made the list of terms parents failed to understand.
Prof Sutherland said: "The limitation of characters on old handsets were a key factor in the rise of acronyms in text messaging such as TXT, GR8 and M8.
"However, technological evolution has meant that these words are now effectively extinct from the text speak language and are seen as 'antique text speak'.
He added that the rise of emojis could be the next phase in language and communication, and that the increasing use of icons had an historical link.
We are moving to a more pictographic form of communication with the increasing popularity of the emoticon, he said.
The study was commissioned by technology giant Samsung to mark the launch of the Galaxy S6.
TOP 10 NEW FORMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA LANGUAGE PARENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND:
1 Fleek - Looking good
2 FOMO - Fear of missing out
3 Bae - A term of affection
4 ICYMI - In case you missed it
5 Deadout - Rubbish or tired
6 TBT - Throwback Thursday
7 LMK - Let me know
8 RN - Right now
9 Thirsty - Looking for attention
10 NSFW - Not safe for work
TOP 10 FORMS OF TEXT SPEAK NOW DEFUNCT:
1 TXT - Text
2 GR8 - Great
3 M8 - Mate
4 BRB - Be right back
5 ROFL - Rolling on the floor laughing
6 BBZ - Babes
7 L8RZ - See you later
8 GTG - Got to go
9 Enuf - Enough
10 TTYL - Talk to you later
