Sowieso ≠ so oder so

Abstract

The German adverb sowieso is difficult to grasp, which is reflected by a variety of different accounts. In one of these, sowieso is equated with another German expression: so oder so. This sets the starting point as well as the scope of the present paper. We will demonstrate that sowieso and so oder so are not equivalent and we will argue that they differ in use conditions and at-issue meanings. We will also show that there are different uses of sowieso and propose that they share an inherent meaning component: a comparison of causes.