Semantic Analysis of Hyponymy in the Short Story

The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde

PROPOSAL

BY

LITA AGUSNIASARI DEWI

NIM 178820300014

UNIVERSITAS MUHAMMADIYAH SIDOARJO

FACULTY OF PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

2020
A. Background of the Study
Semantic is one of the branches of linguistics. According to Riemer (2010) semantics
is a branch of science that studies the meaning of language. Language can be in the form of
spoken, written, or gesture which has meaning and is very important to be used for
communication. The meaning of language has an important role in conveying
messages/information so that what is conveyed can be understood and its meaning conveyed.
This meaning has a consistency that cannot be influenced by any context. Meanwhile,
according to Yule (2010) semantics has a simple meaning, which is pragmatic with general
knowledge of words, phrases, and sentences in the language used. Semantics is a branch of
linguistics that is used to determine the meaning of a language and its interpretation in a
language.
There are many short story books in Indonesia that are packaged according to
children's styles. Not only in Indonesian, but also many short story books in English. Based
on the Encyclopedia Britannica Classic (2014), a short story is a short fictional narrative story
and is shorter than a novel containing several characters and has the aim of creating an effect
on the creation of a plot atmosphere. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, known as Oscar
Wilde is an Irish poet, novelist and short story researcher. One of Oscar Wilde's short stories
is "The Happy Prince". “The Happy Prince” is a short story created to tell a happy prince who
died and a statue was made to commemorate his figure. In the short story "The Happy
Prince", there are many hyponymy words used.
Hyponym is widely used in writing short stories, novels, film scripts, even in dramas
and films. Hyponym has related meaning with other meanings which have the same category
scope. For example watermelon, melon and banana are hyponym from the fruit form whereas
spinach, mustard greens, carrots are the hyponym forms of vegetables. This is in accordance
with the opinion of Al-Shemmery (2017), a hyponym is a relationship of meaning that is
interrelated and forms a sequence of meanings based on classification so as to form a
hierarchical order. Oscar Wilde's 1880 short story "The Happy Prince" forms the basis of this
research. The short story "The Happy Prince" was chosen because there are many words that
contain hyponyms. However, hyponym has many categories and sometimes difficult to
classify. Therefore, hyponym is indicated to be a strong reason for further investigation.
Based on this background, the reseracher would like to carry out research entitled Semantic
Analysis of Hyponymy in the Short Story The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
B. Problem Statement
The reserach question can be formulated as follow “What is the most dominant
hyponymy category in the short story "The Happy Prince"?

C. Objective of the Study

The specific objective of the result of this study is “To find out the dominant
hyponymy category in The Happy Prince short story”.

D. Hypothesis
The hypothesis of this research is what hyponymy category is the most dominant in
the short story "Happy Prince".

E. Frame Discussion
1. Research Method
This study used a descriptive qualitative research design as a method.
According to Mukhtar (2013), qualitative descriptive research is a method used to
find out the current knowledge and theory of the object under study at a certain time.
The object of this semantic study is Oscar Wilde's short story "The Happy Prince".
This study aims to determine which hyponym category is the most dominant in the
short story "The Happy Prince".
2. Data Collection Method
In the data collection method, the researcher determines the following steps:
1. Researchers read and research the short story "The Happy Prince"
2. Researchers select and find words or phrases that are classified as hyponymy in the
category group.
3. Researchers collect words or phrases that are classified as hyponymy, and
document them in the form of notes.
3. Data Analysis Method
The analysis method used is a method adapted from Miles & Huberman
(1994), the analysis activity begins with collecting data, reducing data, presenting
data, and concluding or verifying the data that has been generated. The stages in the
analysis of this research are:
1. Collecting and identify categories of words or phrases containing hyponyms.
2. Carefully categorize words or phrases according to their respective group or
category classification.
3. After being grouped according to their categories, calculate the overall total
category of which hyponym is the most dominant.
4. Finally, conclude the data obtained.
REFERENCE
Al- Shemmery, M., M., & Alshemmery, I., M., O. 2017. The Acquisition of Hyponymy by
Iraqi EFL University Students. Journal of College of Basic Education for Education and
HumanSciences, (34), 403–414. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317371298
Miles, Mathew B., dan A. Michael Huberman. 1994. An Expanded Sourcebook: Qualitative
Data Analysis. London: Sage Publications.
Mukhtar. 2013. Metode Penelitian Deskriptif Kualitatif. Jakarta: GP Press Group
Riemer, N. 2010. Introducing Semantics. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Yule, G. 2010. The Study of Language (4th ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2