Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq

Sjowaázh eñZóol (soo-WAHZH en-ZOOL; High Sjowaázh: /stsʊwɑ̌ːʐ̊ ɛⁿzûːl/ 'Sjowaázh home'), often simply called Zóol (Eevo: Zwl) by foreigners, is a country in Txapoalli. It is loosely based on "What if British people made anime?"

Its capital is 'Onáp'aañ.

Geography

Should be big enough for dialects to thrive

Sjowaázh eñZóol is an archipelago with three main islands.

Pop culture

Modern Sjowaázh pop culture, such as animation and video games, grew out of the influence of Naquian theaterism, native theater and literature, and modern global pop culture. Due to the popularity of Sjowaázh pop culture across the globe, Sjowaázh varieties are commonly learned by Sjowaázhophile otakus.

Elite usic

(Created by User:IlL)

Traditional Sjowaázh music is monophonic. Like in many spheres of Sjowaázh life, there is a division between elite and folk music. The styles differ not only in the language used (elite music uses High Sjowaázh whereas folk music uses one of the vernacular varieties), but also in instruments, scales and form.

Instruments

Some Sjowaázh instruments are the lute (ya'óog), various spike fiddles such as the erhu (shjhedgaáñd), the lyre (biliiwíd), various end-blown flutes (joweét'), a reed instrument ('awaloós), a large drum (khoól) and the woodblock (ghonyéeñ). String instruments usually are unfretted but marked at perfect fourths.

Social context

In traditional Sjowaázh elite society, one was expected to able to play music and improvise. Courts would periodically hold improvisation competitions.

Tuning

The Sjowaázh tradition takes a purely melodic, rather than harmonic, approach to tuning, unlike the Talman and Bjeheondian traditions. Traditionally, the building blocks of Sjowaázh scales are tetrachords or pentachords, i.e. divisions of the perfect fourth into three or four intervals. Innovations over the years have led to finer divisions or "n-chords" of the perfect fourth being used in more "sophisticated" music. Nevertheless, steps in any n-chord are no smaller than about 50 cents.

The general term for a division of the fourth in Sjowaázh is hañbaáj (pl. hañbaajín).

The octave may be divided into two perfect fourths plus one whole tone, to form a scale type known as 'áañjh. However, in monophonic music, the perfect fourths divided into hañbaajín may even be stacked on top of each other indefinitely, without regard to octave equivalence, a practice called shiilyohóokh. The same hañbaáj or melody may be imitated a fourth above or below in this case. Or, the melody may be voiced in parallel fourths in an organum-like fashion (the only example of harmony in Sjowaázh music).

Etsoj Jopah analyzed hañbaajín in terms of rational divisions of string lengths. More recently, the theorist Woñjéyi proposed representing the Sjowaázh musical system by dividing the octave into 58 equal parts. One of his rationales was that the perfect fourth in 58edo is 24 steps, a highly composite number.

Some hañbaajín

There are some hundreds of hañbaajín.

The numbers shown are approximate 58 equal temperament equivalents of step sizes.

Tetrachords

Sjowaázh tetrachords prefer to keep very large steps in the middle.

• beeky'ógh 'áad: 11 10 3
• beeky'ógh jyek: 10 11 3
• esyóoñ: 10 10 4
• cyáañ: 9 8 7 (approximately 9:10:11:12)
• naajyetóh: 8 8 8 (similar to the equable diatonic genus)
• seecyáañ: 7 8 9
• bajíñd: 7 7 10
• slót'an: 6 6 12
• ookásdiñ: 3 19 2
• moc'aásh: 2 11 11

Pentachords

• jook'etóh: 6 6 6 6
• yiilyí: 7 6 6 5 (approximately 12:13:14:15:16)
• seeyiilyí: 5 6 6 7
• jhatóñsheh: 3 9 7 3

Rhythm

Sjowaázh music is typically unmetered. There is a smallest note length, and there may be small basic rhythmic figures in the melody, but the rhythms are not organized into measures. When percussion accompaniment is used, "small" percussion such as woodblocks may sound on each "beat" in the music. The drum marks the beginning and end of sections.

Ceremonial and military music uses duple meters such as 2/4 or 4/4.

Notation

Much of Sjowaázh music was traditionally improvised. Sjowaázh notation works a little like unheightened neumes: it marks rhythm and rough melodic contours. The hañbaáj to be used is also indicated. Much is left to the discretion of the performer, however.

In modern times, modern Talman staff notation (assuming a 58edo or 87edo framework) may be used, although this is often deemed less than satisfactory for Sjowaázh music.

Famous musicians and composers

• Gyaácl'osh: court composer, erhu player
• Woñjéyi: theorist and composer
• Bishooladéeñd: musician
• 'Iñclaáñ: modern artist

Society and politics

In the past, Sjowaázh society was strongly stratified by hereditary class and occupation. Today, one's class is also determined by education and the schools one went to, in addition to one's family background. Sjowaázh politics, which tends center-right, is significantly influenced by the class system.

Religion

[Sketch]

The Sjowaázh traditionally believed in a "spirit-complex". The "spirit-complex" links all spirits together; spirits leave it when a person is born, and his spirit reenters the spirit-complex when he dies.

This spirit-complex is held to be the source of morality. Since everyone is of the spirit-complex, morality involves both respect for the living and the dead.