Donation or Discount: Effect of Promotion Mode on Green Consumption Behavior

Environmental issues are still challenging and of global concern. To improve the environmental consumption behavior of consumers, this study investigates whether the match between the promotion mode and product type can improve the conceptual fluency of consumers, so as to increase their purchase intention for green products. The results of three experiments reveal that the interaction between promotion mode and product type has a certain impact on the conceptual fluency of consumers, which can, in turn, promote their purchase intention. This research theoretically contributes to the research on green consumption by introducing promotion mode and revealing the mediation effect of conceptual fluency, it also provides some practical implications for alleviating environmental problems.

INVESTIGATING METAPHOR IN MODERN GREEK INTERNET MEMES:

Internet memes are a quite recent web-genre that makes use of metaphorical conceptualizations and humor. This paper draws on data from humorous metaphors in a small corpus of Greek memes posted on Facebook. The analysis suggests that common conventional metaphors underlie memes, such as emotions are forces, human body is a machine, and people are animals; however, several novel conceptualizations arise, fused into conceptual blends: coronavirus is war, low-paid is diseased, natural forces are people. The findings are interpreted in the light of the cognitive theory of metaphor and humor and they are discussed in terms of contextualizing metaphor and developing metaphoric competence or conceptual fluency within discourse-based L2 learning contexts.

Synonymic Traps in Selected English Lexical Semantics Terms

The paper zooms in on terminological and conceptual scrutiny of selected eight English lexical semantics terms with the aim of pointing out their terminological synonymy, which is often misrecognized by English linguistics undergraduates. Does a ‘loose synonym’ denote in lexical semantics the same thing as a ‘partial synonym’ or ‘cognitive synonym’? Is the cognitive content of the term ‘false friend’ identical with that of a ‘pseudosynonym’ or ‘paronym’? What aspects of the semantic continuum are shared and non-shared by the selected terms? These questions are at the core of this contribution which can serve didactic purposes of English linguistics teaching. The desk research findings are part of semantic and lexicographic studies and aspire to forewarn English linguistics undergraduates of conceptual misinterpretations in common lexical semantics terms. The paper operates from the perspective of cultural linguistics across the Anglophone semantic continuum. It is based on a tailored Sharifian’s premise [2015] that the metalanguage of English lexical semantics is a repository of cultural conceptualizations that leave traces in its current terminological practice. The study suggests that some English lexical semantics terms offer a considerable space for their synonymic treatment, however, to the detriment of their correct conceptual decoding. The credit of the paper lies in raising undergraduates’ awareness of metalinguistic terminology but also in increasing their conceptual fluency in the selected terms.

La fluidez conceptual en la interlengua escrita de aprendientes alemanes de español como lengua extranjera

This paper focuses on the written interlanguage of German college students studying Spanish as a Foreign Language in four different levels (A2-C1). In order to observe the evolution of conceptual fluency, a total number of sixty participants wrote an essay about their Spanish studies without previous instruction on the Theory of Conceptual Metaphor (Lakoff/Johnson 1980). The metaphorical density index was measured with special attention paid to the differences and similarities between the German and Spanish semantic conceptual systems and the metaphors used in each stage of learning. The results show that the L1 plays a fundamental role in the typology of metaphors, while quantitative factors such as the metaphorical density index can also vary depending on the target language and the topics of the essays. Therefore, conventional metaphors play a fundamental role in foreign language learning, as the most significant examples in terms of lack of conceptual fluency have been caused by copying linguistic structures from conventional German metaphors into the target language.