{{Short description|Basic/Learning English edition of Wikipedia}} {{Circular|date=June 2025}} {{Redirect|SE Wikipedia|Wikipedia in the Sámi language|Northern Sámi Wikipedia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox website | name = {{Wiki favicon}} Simple English Wikipedia | screenshot = Simple English Wikipedia screenshot.png | screenshot_alt = The homepage of the Simple English Wikipedia | caption = The homepage of the Simple English Wikipedia | collapsible = Yes | logo = Wikipedia-logo-v2-simple.svg | logo_size = 85% | logo_caption = Logo of the Simple English Wikipedia | url = {{URL|simple.wikipedia.org}} | commercial = No | launch_date = September 18, 2001<ref name=HomePage /> | type = Online encyclopedia | language = {{hlist|Basic English|Learning English}} | registration = Optional | owner = Wikimedia Foundation | num_users = {{NUMBEROF|USERS|simple|N}} users, {{rounded calculation| {{NUMBEROF|ADMINS|simple}}-1|0}} administrators as of {{Date}} | content_license = {{nobr|Creative Commons Attribution/<br/>Share-Alike 4.0}} (most text also dual-licensed under GFDL)<br/>Media licensing varies }}
The '''Simple English Wikipedia''' is a modified English language edition of Wikipedia written primarily in Basic English and 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 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|date=January 2026}}
Simple English Wikipedia's basic presentation style makes it helpful for beginners learning English.<ref name="helpful for beginners">{{cite book |author=Fabien Snauwaert |url=https://how-to-learn-english.com |publisher=how-to-learn-english.com |title=How to Learn English, the ebook 📘 |year=2010 |page=34 |access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name=HomePage>{{cite web |url=http://simple.wikipedia.com/wiki.cgi?action=history&id=HomePage |title=History of Home Page |website=Simple English Wikipedia |language=simple |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011019070808/http://simple.wikipedia.com/wiki.cgi?action=history&id=HomePage |archive-date=October 19, 2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 13, 2025}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Popkin |first=Helen A.S. |date=December 7, 2012 |title=You're not smart enough to read Wikipedia |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/youre-not-smart-enough-read-wikipedia-flna1c7466948 |access-date=April 3, 2024 |publisher=NBC News}}</ref>
Material from the Simple English Wikipedia formed the basis for One Encyclopedia per Child,<ref>{{cite web |title=One Encyclopedia Per Child |url=http://wiki.laptop.org/go/One_encyclopedia_per_child |access-date=29 July 2009 |publisher=Wiki.laptop.org}}</ref> a project in One Laptop per Child<ref>{{cite book |author=Lawrence A. Tomei, Robert Morris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7xi5jcSp6EC&pg=PA544 |title=Encyclopedia of Information Technology Curriculum Integration |publisher=Idea Group Inc (IGI) |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-59904-881-9 |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>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia|title=Simple English Wikipedia|website=Wikimedia Meta|language=en|access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref>
As of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, the site contains over {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|ARTICLES|simple}} round -3}}}} content pages. It has more than {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|USERS|simple}} round -3}}}} registered users, of whom {{formatnum:{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|ACTIVEUSERS|simple}}}}}} have made an edit in the past month.<ref>Special:Statistics. Retrieved {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}</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 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]|isbn=9781593271763 }}</ref> The project encourages, but does not enforce, the use of a vocabulary of around 1,500 commonly used 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>
== See also == *Plain English *Basic English *Readability
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links == {{InterWiki|code=simple|Simple English}} {{Commons category|Simple English Wikipedia}} *{{Official website|name=Simple English Wikipedia main page}} {{Wikipedias}}{{Wikipedias in Germanic languages}}
Category:Wikipedias in Germanic languages Category:Internet properties established in 2001