On 'noch (ein)mal so'

Abstract

This paper discusses the expression “nochmal so” (occurring with a gradable adjective) which is translated either as “twice as” or as “that ..., too”. It is argued that “nochmal” in these sentences is a contraction of “noch einmal” (lit. “still/in addition once”), whereby “noch” (= “still”, “in addition”) is a phasal particle which can be used with a variety of different readings, e.g. a temporal reading as “still” and additive reading as “in addition”. A particular puzzle of the examples discussed in this paper is that, in contrast to the predictions of the standard account of “noch” which assumes that it merely contributes a presupposition, the presence of “noch” matters for the truth conditions of the sentence. In order to account for this, I will adopt and adapt Thomas (2018)’s differential account of additive “noch” and argue that the “noch” in “nochmal so” is additive.