Is this でも or で＋も?


This is similar to a [previous
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/12564/particle-
interpretation-of-%E5%BE%8C%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82) of mine. Also from Kanji in
Context, we have the example sentence (with no other context)

> 東京｛とうきょう｝ **でも** 雪｛ゆき｝は降｛ふ｝りますが、たいていは大｛たい｝して積｛つ｝もりません。

Is it possible to determine whether the でも here is でも (even in Tokyo, it
snows) or で(location of action) + も (it also snows in Tokyo)?




**_Formal vs. Informal_**

I am going to say that:

1) In **_informal_** speech, both interpretations are almost equally natural.

2) In **_formal_** speech, however, it would be considerably more appropriate
to interpret the 「でも」 as being 「で + も」(location + "also").

Here is my reasoning.

If one said 「東京 **でも** 雪は降る」 in formal speech to mean "It snows **_even_** in
Tokyo.", then one would have to wonder where the location marker is because
「でも」 is all taken to express "even".

In formal speech, one would instead need to use 「東京で **さえも** 」 or 「東京で **でも**
」 to express both " **even** " and " **in** ". Admittedly, though, the latter
would rarely be heard in real life as it is a mouthful.

「Place Name + で + でも」 is very often contracted to 「Place Name + でも」 in
informal speech, which is the main reason that, in informal speech, 「東京でも雪は降る」
can naturally be interpreted to mean both:

"It snows in Tokyo, too." and "It snows even in Tokyo."




**_Formal vs. Informal_**

I am going to say that:

1) In **_informal_** speech, both interpretations are almost equally natural.

2) In **_formal_** speech, however, it would be considerably more appropriate
to interpret the 「でも」 as being 「で + も」(location + "also").

Here is my reasoning.

If one said 「東京 **でも** 雪は降る」 in formal speech to mean "It snows **_even_** in
Tokyo.", then one would have to wonder where the location marker is because
「でも」 is all taken to express "even".

In formal speech, one would instead need to use 「東京で **さえも** 」 or 「東京で **でも**
」 to express both " **even** " and " **in** ". Admittedly, though, the latter
would rarely be heard in real life as it is a mouthful.

「Place Name + で + でも」 is very often contracted to 「Place Name + でも」 in
informal speech, which is the main reason that, in informal speech, 「東京でも雪は降る」
can naturally be interpreted to mean both:

"It snows in Tokyo, too." and "It snows even in Tokyo."

