In linguistics, volition refers to a distinction that is made in some languages' verb conjugations or case assignment to express whether the subject intended the action or not, or whether it was done voluntarily or accidentally.
The distinction is not made in English. For example, the sentence "he dropped the vase" does not imply whether the person referred to as he was acting maliciously, or whether it was an accident. However, in languages where there is no volitional conjugation, volition can be expressed using verbs that express intention. The volitional equivalent of the sentence above is "he threw the vase down".
In Hindi, volition can be expressed with certain verbs, when the subject did something on purpose the subject noun gets the ergative case suffix, if the subject did not intend to do something, the subject noun is in the nominative case instead.
Hindi
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a. Rām khãs-a Ram.. cough-.. 'Ram coughed.' b. Rām-ne khãs-a Ram-. cough-.. 'Ram coughed (purposefully).'
Volition is prominent in active–stative languages with fluid-S.
Famous quotes containing the word volition:
“the ocean, under the pulsation of lighthouses and noise of bell
buoys,
advances as usual, looking as if it were not that ocean in which
dropped things are bound to sink—
in which if they turn and twist, it is neither with volition nor
consciousness.”
—Marianne Moore (1887–1972)