Simple English Wikipedia
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| 85% Logo of the Simple English Wikipedia | |
Screenshot | |
Type of site | Online encyclopedia |
|---|---|
| Available in | |
| Owner | Wikimedia Foundation |
| URL | simple |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | Lua error in Module:NUMBEROF/data at line 5: attempt to index field 'data' (a nil value). users, Formatting error: invalid input when rounding administrators as of 23 June 2026 |
| Launched | September 18, 2001[1][2] |
Content license | Creative Commons Attribution/ Share-Alike 4.0 (most text also dual-licensed under GFDL) Media licensing varies |
The Simple English Wikipedia is a modified English language edition of Wikipedia written primarily in Basic English and Learning English.[3] 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."[4]
Simple English Wikipedia's basic presentation style makes it helpful for beginners learning English.[5] Its simpler word structure and syntax, while missing some nuances, can make information easier to understand when compared with the regular English Wikipedia.
History
[edit | edit source]The Simple English Wikipedia was launched on September 18, 2001.[1][2]
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.[6]
Material from the Simple English Wikipedia formed the basis for One Encyclopedia per Child,[7] a project in One Laptop per Child[8] that ended in 2014.[9]
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.[10]
As of June 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.[11]
Website structure
[edit | edit source]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".[12] 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".[13] The project encourages, but does not enforce, the use of a vocabulary of around 1,500 commonly used English words[3] that is based on Basic English, an 850-word controlled natural language created by Charles Kay Ogden in the 1920s.[12]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Simple English Wikipedia, 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2016
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Special:Statistics. Retrieved June 23, 2026
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Lua error in Module:Official_website at line 94: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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