12 hours ago
"The articles in the Simple English Wikipedia use shorter sentences and easier words and grammar than the regular English Wikipedia."
Sounds like the writing style in some major modern news media (e.g. USA Today). I call it "news for 8th graders."
12 hours ago
9 hours ago
Honest question: why post this on HN?
8 hours ago
I found it curious how Wikipedia adapted middle school English as a whole new language. The had a feature (languages) but used it to rewrite articles in a different style.
Had the "hackers using features in unintended ways" feel to it.
7 hours ago
Ok, fair enough.
FYI it's not uncommon to get for example news in simplified language for non-native speakers. And I think there's a version of Chinese that uses Latin alphabet, so indeed some languages are just "dumbed-down" versions of the real thing!
11 hours ago
Verily, this implieth the need for a Shakespearean English Wikipedia, for those occasions when thou needest additional bass in thy mix.
12 hours ago