Simple English Wikipedia
Template:Short description Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Hatnote list' not found. Template:DMCA
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Script error: No such module "If empty". | |
| Page Template:Hidden begin/styles.css has no content. Screenshot
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. The homepage of the Simple English Wikipedia | |
Type of site | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
|---|---|
| Available in | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Founded | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Headquarters | Script error: No such module "Separated entries". |
| Owner | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Created by | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Editor | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Revenue | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Employees | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Subsidiaries | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| URL | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Users | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| Launched | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
Content license | Script error: No such module "If empty". |
| ISSN | Template:ISSN link |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The Simple English Wikipedia is a modified English language edition of Wikipedia written primarily in Basic English and Learning English.[2] It is one of ten Wikipedias written in an Anglic language or English-based pidgin or creole. 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."Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.[citation needed]
Simple English Wikipedia's basic presentation style makes it helpful for beginners learning English.[3] Its simpler word structure and syntax, while missing some nuances, can make information easier to understand when compared with the regular English Wikipedia.
History
The Simple English Wikipedia was launched on September 18, 2001.[1]
In 2012, Andrew Lih, a Wikipedian and author, told NBC News' Helen A.S. Popkin that the Simple English Wikipedia does not "have a high standing in the Wikipedia community", and added that it never had a clear purpose: "Is it for people under the age 14, or just a simpler version of complex articles?", wrote Popkin.[4]
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]
In 2018, it was proposed for closure due to a claim that no proof exists that the target audience was catered to, but the proposal was rejected due to unjustified policies and lack of approval.[8]
As of August 2026, the site contains over Expression error: Unexpected < operator content pages. It has more than Expression error: Unexpected < operator registered users, of whom Expression error: Unexpected < operator have made an edit in the past month.[9]
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".[10] 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".[11] The project encourages, but does not enforce, the use of a vocabulary of around 1,500 commonly used English words[2] that is based on Basic English, an 850-word controlled natural language created by Charles Kay Ogden in the 1920s.[10]
See also
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ a b Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ a b Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Special:Statistics. Retrieved August 3, 2026
- ^ a b Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
- ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities' not found.
External links
Script error: No such module "Side box". Script error: No such module "Side box".
- Script error: No such module "Official website".
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.Template:Wikipedias in Germanic languages
