Volition (linguistics)
In linguistics, volition is a concept that distinguishes whether the subject, or agent of a particular sentence intended an action or not.
[1] Volition concerns the idea of control and for the purposes outside of psychology and cognitive science, is considered the same as intention in linguistics.
[2] Other languages handle this with affixes,[1][2] while others have complex structural consequences of volitional or non-volitional encoding.
[4] The effect of this is such that when a semantic unit is changed or removed, the meaning of the utterance will differ in some way.
Such an analysis would simply test the meaning difference with or without the volitional (verbal) affix (the semantic unit in question), as understood by the listener.
[5] A syntactic approach to analyzing volition focuses primarily on structural change, and does not rely on either speaker meaning or the information understood by the listener in order to explain the phenomena.
In his analysis of the Squamish language, Peter Jacobs examines how transitive predicates are marked differently according to the degree of control an agent has over an event.
[6] Unlike semantic approaches, this and others based on syntax focus on the relationship between elements within the sentence structure hierarchy to explain differences in meaning.
In looking at the syntax, linguists analyze the use of case marking, which distinguishes between volitional and non-volitional agents of an event.
Some languages may use specific affixes on syntactic categories to denote whether the agent intends an action or not.
[8] This may, in turn, also affect the syntactic structure of a sentence in the sense that a particular verb may only select a volitional agent.
Others, like English, do not have an explicit method of marking lexical categories for volition or non-volition.
This is indicated by the following semantically ill-formed sentence using both kinds of adverbs: Note: Modern English seems to allow use of the "accidentally on purpose" construction to convey two separate volitional meanings.
I kicked her doll accidentally on purpose would be +volitional to the listener but carries too, the implied request that the action be reported as -volitional to the indirect object.
In a study by Matthew Rispoli, a psycholinguist, there are at least three aspects involved in the grouping transitive and intransitive verbs.
They are case marking, theme animacy, and planning, as indicated by the appropriate use of verb suffixes denoting request, desire, and prohibition.
[10] Transitive and intransitive action verb groups share common conceptual ground.
[10] おもちゃomochatoyが-ga-SBJ入ったhaittaenteredおもちゃ が 入ったomocha -ga haittatoy -SBJ entered'(The) toy entered'おもちゃomochatoyを-o-OBJ入れたiretaput inおもちゃ を 入れたomocha -o iretatoy -OBJ {put in}'(Someone) put in (the) toy'The transitive and intransitive action verb groups can be contrasted on a formal dimension of case marking because the two verb groups have different syntactic relations to the theme.
[10] Semantic information about the theme may also contribute in distinguishing between the two groups of transitive and intransitive action verbs.
However, these verbs are more likely to refer to unplanned actions, in which case they will not occur in requests, imperatives, desideratives or prohibitions.
Prefixes can be used to mark volition, as in Sesotho, a Bantu language spoken in South Africa.
[3] Observe the following data, adapted from Hogeweg (2010: 40):[3] hod.15-nk-take-a-FV-seabopartho -nk -a -seabod.15 -take -FV part'to participate/participating'mod.15-nk-take-a-FV-seabo-partmo -nk -a -seabod.15 -take -FV -part'participant'Other languages make use of infixes to encode volition.
[2] Observe the following data, adapted from LaPolla (2000: 289-295):[11] tv́lroll-ò-3+TR.N.PAST-ē-N.PASTtv́l -ò -ēroll -3+TR.N.PAST -N.PAST'to roll'tv́lroll-shì-R/M-ē-N.PASTtv́l -shì -ēroll -R/M -N.PAST'to roll oneself (on purpose; intransitive, but with intention)'Other languages make use of suffixes as a way of marking volition.
[7] Linguists incorporate syntax into the approach to volition in Sinhalese by considering case role.
木がki gatree-NOM倒してtaoshitefell:TE-ASPある-aruNPAST木が 倒して ある{ki ga} taoshite -arutree-NOM fell:TE-ASP NPAST'the tree has been felled' [16]木がki gatree-NOM倒れてtaoretefell:TE-ASPいる-iruNPAST木が 倒れて いる{ki ga} taorete -irutree-NOM fell:TE-ASP NPAST'the tree has fallen (and, is lying on the ground)' [16]In contrast with the previous volition indicating and volition neutral auxiliaries, an auxiliary form of the verb しまう（shimau） ('finish, put away') can be used to mark a lack of volition.
This auxiliary is used to mark a completed or habitual action with sense of regret, embarrassment, surprise, or lack of control.
