Word Formation and Transitivity Structures in the Representation of Self-Harm in a Little Life

This study, discusses how language is used to represent acts of self-harm in Hanya Yanagihara's novel A Little Life. The research focuses on two main points: (1) the types of word formation used to create vocabulary related to self-harm, and (2) how this vocabulary is manifested in transitivity structures that describe the experience of self-harm in the narrative.The purpose of this study is to identify the morphological processes that emerge and analyze how these processes are structured within the framework of transitivity so as to present complex dimensions of meaning. The research method used is qualitative-descriptive, referring to the word formation theories of Yule (2010) and Carstairs-McCarthy, as well as the transitivity theory of Thompson (2014) within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics. The research data are taken from 185 clauses in the novel that explicitly contain descriptions of self-harm. The results of the study show two main findings. First, in terms of word formation, six of the ten categories proposed by Yule, eight were found, namely derivation (40 findings), borrowing (22), compounding with (17), conversion with two, abbreviation one finding, and multiple processes with three finding with a total of 87 words. Derivation was the most dominant type, indicating its role in enriching the vocabulary related to self-harm. Second, in terms of transitivity, all types of processes are found, with a dominance of material processes (85 clauses), followed by mental processes (45), relational processes (34), verbal processes (10), behavioral processes nine, and existential processes two. This confirms that self-harm is not only described as a physical act, but also as a mental condition, social relationship, and broader experience. Overall, this study concludes that word formation and transitivity complement each other. Morphological processes provide a rich vocabulary, while transitivity structures place this vocabulary within a layered narrative framework. Therefore, the representation of self-harm in novels is realized as a physical, emotional, and social experience.