Simple English Wikipedia
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Type of site | Online encyclopedia |
|---|---|
| Available in | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Owner | Wikimedia Foundation |
| URL | simple |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | Script error: No such module "NUMBEROF". users, Template:Rounded calculation administrators as of 12 August 2026 |
| Launched | September 18, 2001[1] |
Content license | Creative Commons Attribution/ Share-Alike 4.0 (most text also dual-licensed under GFDL) Media licensing varies |
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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."[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
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- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History of Home Page". Simple English Wikipedia (in Simple English). Archived from the original on 19 October 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fabien Snauwaert (2010). How to Learn English, the ebook 📘. how-to-learn-english.com. p. 34. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Popkin, Helen A.S. (7 December 2012). "You're not smart enough to read Wikipedia". NBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."One Encyclopedia Per Child". Wiki.laptop.org. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lawrence A. Tomei, Robert Morris (2008). Encyclopedia of Information Technology Curriculum Integration. Idea Group Inc (IGI). p. 544. ISBN 978-1-59904-881-9.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Simple English Wikipedia". Wikimedia Meta. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
- ^ Special:Statistics. Retrieved August 12, 2026
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tim Dowling (14 January 2008). "Wikipedia too long-winded for you? Try the simple version". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ayers, Phoebe; Matthews, Charles; Yates, Ben (2008). How Wikipedia works: and how you can be a part of it. No Starch Press. p. 417. ISBN 9781593271763.
External links
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- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
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