Simple English Wikipedia: Difference between revisions

| logo_size = 85%

| url = {{URL|simple.wikipedia.org}}

| launch_date = 2001

| type = [[Online encyclopedia]]

| language = {{hlist|[[Basic English]]|[[Special English]]}}

| 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]] 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 {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|ARTICLES|simple}} round -3}}}} content pages, and has more than {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|USERS|simple}} round -3}}}} registered users, of whom {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|ACTIVEUSERS|simple}}}}}} are currently active.<ref>[[:simple:Special:Statistics|Special:Statistics]], Retrieved {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}</ref>

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]].  

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>

== Website structure ==

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>

== References ==

{{reflist}}

 

 

{{InterWiki|code=simple|Simple English}}

{{Wikipedias in Germanic languages}}