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Simple English Wikipedia: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Basic/Special English edition of Wikipedia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox website
{{Infobox website
| name = {{Wiki favicon}} Simple English Wikipedia
| name = {{Wiki favicon}} Simple English Wikipedia
| screenshot = Simple English Wikipedia screenshot.png
| screenshot = Simple English Wikipedia screenshot.png
| screenshot_alt = The homepage of the Simple English Wikipedia
| collapsible = Yes
| collapsible = Yes
| logo = Wikipedia-logo-v2-simple.svg
| logo = Wikipedia-logo-v2-simple.svg
| caption =  
| logo_size = 85%
| url = {{URL|https://simple.wikipedia.org}}
| location = [[United Kingdom]] and [[Miami]], [[Florida]], [[United States]]
| logo_caption = Logo of the Simple English Wikipedia
| url = {{URL|simple.wikipedia.org}}
| commercial = No
| commercial = No
| launch date = {{Start date and age|2001|9|18}}
| launch_date = 2001
| location = [[Miami]], [[Florida]], [[United States]]
| type = [[Online encyclopedia]]
| type = Internet [[encyclopedia]] [[project]]
| language = {{hlist|[[Basic English]]|[[Special English]]}}
| language = [[English language|English]]
| registration = Optional
| registration = Optional
| owner = [[Wikimedia Foundation]]
| owner = [[Wikimedia Foundation]]
| author =  
| num_users = {{NUMBEROF|USERS|simple|N}} users, {{rounded calculation| {{NUMBEROF|ADMINS|simple}}-1|0}} administrators as of {{Date}}
}}
}}
The '''Simple English Wikipedia''' is an [[English language|English-language]] version of [[Wikipedia]], an online [[encyclopedia]], that is written at a basic level of [[English language|English]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2240303,00.html |title=Wikipedia too long-winded for you? Try the simple version |author=Tim Dowling |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=January 14, 2008 |accessdate=2009-05-17}}</ref> It was created on Septemeber 18, 2001. All of the articles in the Simple English Wikipedia use shorter sentences and easier [[words]] and [[grammar]] than the regular [[English Wikipedia]].


People with different needs use the Simple English Wikipedia. They include:
The '''Simple English Wikipedia''' is an [[English language|English-language]] edition of the [[Wikipedia]] [[online encyclopedia]] written primarily in [[Basic English]] and [[Learning English (version of English)|Learning English]].<ref name=adolescent>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1_vBUMfgFcC&pg=PA76|title=Adolescent Literacy, Field Tested: Effective Solutions for Every Classroom|last=Parris|first=Sheri R.|publisher=International Reading Assoc.|isbn=978-0-87207-695-2|year=2009|page=76|quote=A version of Wikipedia, called Simple English Wikipedia, contains entries using the 2,000 or so most common words in English, and is well suited for younger readers.}}</ref> It was launched in 2001. It is one of eight Wikipedias written in an [[Anglic languages|Anglic language]] or English-based [[pidgin]]/[[Creole language|creole]], the others being [[English Wikipedia|English]], [[Scots Wikipedia|Scots]], [[Old English Wikipedia|Old English]], [[Pitkern language|Pitkern-Norfuk]], [[Tok Pisin]], [[Jamaican Patois]], and [[Sranan Tongo]]. The site has the stated aim of providing an encyclopedia for "people with different needs, such as students, children, adults with [[learning disability|learning difficulties]], and people who are trying to learn English".<ref>[[:simple:Wikipedia:Simple English Wikipedia|Simple English Wikipedia, 2009]]. Retrieved 26 January 2016</ref> As of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, the site contains over  content pages, and has more than  registered users, of whom {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|ACTIVEUSERS|simple}}}}}}are currently active.<ref>[[:simple:Special:Statistics|Special:Statistics]], Retrieved {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}</ref>
* [[Student]]s
* [[Children]]
* [[Adult]]s who might find it hard to learn or read (including those with a [[learning disability]])
* People who are learning [[English as a second language]]
Other people use the Simple English Wikipedia because the basic language helps them understand hard ideas or topics they do not know about.


Many articles are shorter than the same articles in the English Wikipedia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aaai.org/Papers/Workshops/2008/WS-08-15/WS08-15-008.pdf |title=Automatic Vandalism Detection in Wikipedia: Towards a Machine Learning Approach |author=Koen Smets|publisher=University of Antwerp |accessdate=2009-05-17}}</ref> Technical subjects use some terms that are not simple. Editors try to explain these terms in a simple way. This makes Simple English articles a good way to understand difficult articles from the ordinary English Wikipedia. If someone cannot understand an idea in complex English, they can read the Simple English article.
Simple English Wikipedia's basic presentation style makes it helpful for beginners learning English.<ref name="helpful for beginners">{{cite book|url=https://how-to-learn-english.com|title=How to Learn English|author=Fabien Snauwaert|year=2010|page=34|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref> Its simpler word structure and syntax, while detracting from the raw information standpoint, can make the information easier to understand when compared with the regular [[English Wikipedia]].  


When the Simple English Wikipedia started creation of pages and allowing changes in 2003, the [[:en:|ordinary English Wikipedia]] already had 150,000 articles. Seven other Wikipedias in other [[language]]s also had over 15,000 articles. Since the other Wikipedias already have so many articles, most Simple English articles take articles from other Wikipedias and make them simple; they are usually not new articles. Right now, the Simple English Wikipedia has {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles. Simple Wikipedia is now the 50th largest Wikipedia.<ref>[[metawiki:List of Wikipedias|Wikimedia list of Wikipedias and their statistics]] Retrieved 24 December 2020.</ref>
Material from the Simple English Wikipedia formed the basis for One Encyclopedia per Child,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiki.laptop.org/go/One_encyclopedia_per_child|title=One Encyclopedia Per Child|publisher=Wiki.laptop.org|access-date=29 July 2009}}</ref> a project in [[One Laptop per Child]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7xi5jcSp6EC&pg=PA544|title=Encyclopedia of Information Technology Curriculum Integration|author=Lawrence A. Tomei, Robert Morris|publisher=Idea Group Inc (IGI)|isbn=978-1-59904-881-9|year=2008|pages=544}}</ref> that ended in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=2018-04-16|title=OLPC's $100 laptop was going to change the world — then it all went wrong|url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17233946/olpcs-100-laptop-education-where-is-it-now|access-date=2020-06-13|website=The Verge|language=en}}</ref>


==Related pages==
== Website structure ==
* [[English Wikipedia]]
* [[Wikipedia administrators]]


==References==
The articles on the Simple English Wikipedia are usually shorter than their [[English Wikipedia]] counterparts, typically presenting only basic information. Tim Dowling of ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper explained that "the Simple English version tends to stick to commonly accepted facts".<ref name=dowling/> The interface is also more simply labeled; for instance, the "Random article" link on the English Wikipedia is replaced with a "Show any page" link; users are invited to "change" rather than "edit" pages; clicking on a [[Wikipedia:Red link|red link]] shows a "page not created" message rather than the usual "page does not exist".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/howwikipediawork00ayer_0|url-access=registration|title=How Wikipedia works: and how you can be a part of it|last1=Ayers|first1=Phoebe|author-link1=Phoebe Ayers|last2=Matthews|first2=Charles|last3=Yates|first3=Ben|publisher=No Starch Press|year=2008|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwikipediawork00ayer_0/page/417 417]}}</ref> The project encourages, but does not enforce, use of a vocabulary of around 1,500 common English words<ref name=adolescent/> that is based on [[Basic English]], an 850-word controlled natural language created by [[Charles Kay Ogden]] in the 1920s.<ref name=dowling>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,2240303,00.html|title=Wikipedia too long-winded for you? Try the simple version|author=Tim Dowling|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=14 January 2008|access-date=17 May 2009}}</ref>
{{Reflist}}


==Other websites==
== References ==


{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=simple|Simple English}}
{{Commons category|Simple English Wikipedia}}
{{Commons category|Simple English Wikipedia}}
* [https://simple.m.wikipedia.org Simple English Wikipedia mobile version]
*[https://simple.wikipedia.org Simple English Wikipedia main page]
{{clear}}
*[https://simple.m.wikipedia.org Simple English Wikipedia mobile version]
{{Anglo-Frisian Wikipedias}}
{{Wikipedias}}
{{Wikipedias in Germanic languages}}


{{simple-Wikipedia}}
[[Category:English-language encyclopedias]]
[[Category:English-language websites]]
[[Category:Wikipedias by language]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2003]]
[[Category:Wikipedias in Germanic languages]]

Latest revision as of 13:45, 26 November 2024


The Simple English Wikipedia is an English-language edition of the Wikipedia online encyclopedia written primarily in Basic English and Learning English.[1] It was launched in 2001. It is one of eight Wikipedias written in an Anglic language or English-based pidgin/creole, the others being English, Scots, Old English, Pitkern-Norfuk, Tok Pisin, Jamaican Patois, and Sranan Tongo. The site has the stated aim of providing an encyclopedia for "people with different needs, such as students, children, adults with learning difficulties, and people who are trying to learn English".[2] As of June 2025, the site contains over content pages, and has more than registered users, of whom are currently active.[3]

Favicon of Wikipedia Simple English Wikipedia
85%
Logo of the Simple English Wikipedia
Screenshot
The homepage of the Simple English Wikipedia
Type of site
Online encyclopedia
Available in
HeadquartersUnited Kingdom and Miami, Florida, United States
OwnerWikimedia Foundation
Websitesimple.wikipedia.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
Usersusers, Template:Rounded calculation administrators as of 17 June 2025
Launched2001

Simple English Wikipedia's basic presentation style makes it helpful for beginners learning English.[4] Its simpler word structure and syntax, while detracting from the raw information standpoint, can make the information easier to understand when compared with the regular English Wikipedia.

Material from the Simple English Wikipedia formed the basis for One Encyclopedia per Child,[5] a project in One Laptop per Child[6] that ended in 2014.[7]

Website structureEdit

The articles on the Simple English Wikipedia are usually shorter than their English Wikipedia counterparts, typically presenting only basic information. Tim Dowling of The Guardian newspaper explained that "the Simple English version tends to stick to commonly accepted facts".[8] The interface is also more simply labeled; for instance, the "Random article" link on the English Wikipedia is replaced with a "Show any page" link; users are invited to "change" rather than "edit" pages; clicking on a red link shows a "page not created" message rather than the usual "page does not exist".[9] The project encourages, but does not enforce, use of a vocabulary of around 1,500 common English words[1] that is based on Basic English, an 850-word controlled natural language created by Charles Kay Ogden in the 1920s.[8]

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Parris, Sheri R. (2009). Adolescent Literacy, Field Tested: Effective Solutions for Every Classroom. International Reading Assoc. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-87207-695-2. A version of Wikipedia, called Simple English Wikipedia, contains entries using the 2,000 or so most common words in English, and is well suited for younger readers.
  2. ↑ Simple English Wikipedia, 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2016
  3. ↑ Special:Statistics, Retrieved June 17, 2025
  4. ↑ Fabien Snauwaert (2010). How to Learn English. p. 34. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "One Encyclopedia Per Child". Wiki.laptop.org. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  6. ↑ Lawrence A. Tomei, Robert Morris (2008). Encyclopedia of Information Technology Curriculum Integration. Idea Group Inc (IGI). p. 544. ISBN 978-1-59904-881-9.
  7. ↑ Robertson, Adi (16 April 2018). "OLPC's $100 laptop was going to change the world — then it all went wrong". The Verge. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tim Dowling (14 January 2008). "Wikipedia too long-winded for you? Try the simple version". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  9. ↑ Ayers, Phoebe; Matthews, Charles; Yates, Ben (2008). How Wikipedia works: and how you can be a part of it. No Starch Press. p. 417.

External linksEdit

Template:Anglo-Frisian Wikipedias

Template:Wikipedias in Germanic languages

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