Word Formation Processes in O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi: A Morphological Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to identify and analyze the types of word formation processes found in O. Henry's short story The Gift of the Magi, published in 1905. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method based on Yule's (2010) word formation theory. The data consists of words collected from all paragraphs of the short story. Each identified word is analyzed based on its morphological process using Yule's framework, supported by the Online Etymology Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary to trace the origin and determine the word class. The results show that there are four types of word formation processes found in the short story, namely borrowing (16 words), compounding (20 words), derivation (22 words), and double processes (2 words). Based on these findings, derivation was identified as the most dominant type of word formation process used in The Gift of the Magi. The results shows that morphological processes, particularly borrowing and compounding, play an important role in enriching the English vocabulary. In addition, this study also helps to broaden the understanding of word meaning, especially when applied to English literature.