The Term “Complement” in Systemic Functional Grammar: A Review of Its Theoretical Problems and Implications

Abstract

Despite the widespread application of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) in various text analyses, there exists a dearth of reviews concerning critical syntactic issues within SFG. These syntactic challenges stem primarily from its fundamental conceptual framework—The semantic approach to handling grammar. This theoretical framework seems to intertwine the syntactic capacity and semantic role in text analysis, two of the three levels in syntactic examination. Consequently, it creates inconsistencies in defining the syntactic unit under investigation within a clause and also in characterizing numerous terms. This paper offers a general overview of both syntactic and semantic issues, particularly focusing on problems evident in the Mood system, notably the term “Complement”. It does not delve into a comprehensive and systematic analysis of each problem; rather, it aims to highlight the existence of several unresolved issues within the theory of SFG itself. Therefore, there is a need for further scholarly attention and advocacy within the SFG framework, specifically directed towards addressing theoretical grammatical and syntactic challenges.