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[Abstract not available for the category]
__NOTOC__ Plain language, also referred to as simple language or clear language, is clear, modern , unpretentious language carefully written to ease understanding. It is a reaction to the alleged gobbledygook (aka Legal English) used by lawyers and others to impress or confuse rather than communicate. It distinguishes gobbledygook (example 1) from useful jargon employed as a shorthand among those who understand it (example 2).
Plain language is writing that is easy to read, understand and use. It allows a writer to reach a wider audience by using specific techniques for layout, design and writing text (see "before & after" examples).
*Clear and effective communication. (Professor Joseph Kimble)
*Generally speaking, the idiomatic and grammatical use of language that most effectively presents ideas to the reader. (Bryan Garner)
*Just ... clear, straightforward language, with the needs of the reader foremost in mind. (Michèle Asprey)
*Clear, straightforward expression, using only as many words as are necessary. It is language that avoids obscurity, inflated vocabulary and convoluted construction. It is not baby talk, nor is it a simplified version of ... language. (Dr Robert Eagleson)
*Plain Language is a literary style that is easy-to-read because it matches the reading skill of the audience. (William DuBay)
Plain English (sometimes referred to more broadly as plain language) is a generic term for communication styles that emphasise clarity, brevity and the avoidance of technical language.
Plain English is English written to be understood. It is written in a manner appropriate to the range of reading skill and knowledge of its audience. It is writing where there is no confusion about meaning, is free of cliché and unnecessary jargon and is presented in a way that builds understanding. Good Plain English writing has the characteristic that it communicates to an audience that is unfamiliar with the in-house language and knowledge of the writer.
Various campaigns and movements have promoted the cause of “Plain English” in the US and UK since the 1970s. Particular areas of focus are official documents and publications, and the language of Law.
The late Professor David Mellinkoff (of UCLA School of Law) is widely credited with singlehandedly launching the Plain English movement in American law with the 1963 publication of The Language of the Law.Douglas Martin, "David Mellinkoff, 85, Enemy of Legalese", New York Times, 16 January 2000.
In 1976, the Paperwork Reduction Act was introduced in the US.Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 In 1979, Richard Wydick published Plain English for Lawyers.
In the UK, The Plain English campaign has been campaigning since 1979, "against gobbledygook, jargon and misleading public information. We have helped many government departments and other official organisations with their documents, reports and publications. We believe that everyone should have access to clear and concise information."http://www.plainenglish.co.uk
The UK government now promote the "use of Plain English" and offer advice to those who draft official documents and policy.For example, see Improvement & Development Agency/Plain English
The Plain Language Movement is an effort to eliminate overly complex language from academia, government, law, and business.
International and national organizations in the movement include: * Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) was formed in 1993 as the Plain Language Network. Its membership is international; it was incorporated as a non-profit organization in Canada in 2008. * Clarity is an international association promoting plain legal language. The organization publishes a journal. * The Plain Language Information and Action Network (also known as PLAIN) is a group of volunteer US federal employees working to improve communications from the federal government to the public. *The Center for Plain Language is a US-based nonprofit organization promoting the use of plain language in the public and private sectors. The organization hosts annual symposia in Washington DC.
Organizations that have endorsed plain language include the Legal Writing Institute, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Canadian Bankers Association.<ref name="Plain Language Organizations"></ref>
[Abstract not available for the article]
Plain English Campaign (PEC) is a commercial editing and training firm based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1979 by Chrissie Maher, the company positions itself as a leader in plain language advocacy, working to persuade organisations in the UK and abroad to communicate with the public in plain language.
In 1990, Plain English Campaign created the Crystal Mark, its seal of approval. This is a symbol printed on documents which it considers to be as clear as possible for the intended audience. According to the Plain English Campaign, the symbol appears on over 17,500 documents worldwide.
Plain English Campaign has worked all over the world for companies and organisations including British Gas,British Gas, "Our commitments to you" "British Gas website",, British Telecom,BT Today, "Help site is crystal clear" "Bttoday newslist", January 18, 2008. Irish Life,Irish Life, "Irish Life case study" "Case study", December 2006. Telefónica O2Laurence Wardle, "Ofcom review of alternative dispute resolution schemes" "Report and draft recommendations", 4 October 2005 and the World Bowls association.World Bowls, "Laws of the sport of bowls" "World Bowls", 2006. It has also worked with the majority of UK council and government departments. Many UK forms and bills carry the Crystal Mark, including the British Passport application form.Cabinet Office, "The Six Service Standards for Central Government", "The Six Service Standards for Central Government", July 2001
Plain English Campaign is often described in the media as a pressure group, Paul Majendie, "George Bush loses close run for Foot in Mouth" "Reuters", December 11, 2007. and regularly makes public comment about language-related news stories, particularly jargon.Anna Lagerkvist, "ID theft special: is jargon confusing computer users?" "Digital Home", October 21 , 2006 In 2008 it criticised a consultation document sent to residents living near Heathrow Airport.UK Airport News,"MP and Plain English Campaign back calls to extend Heathrow consultation" "Heathrow Airport news",January 23, 2008 The year before, it mocked signs put up by police in Hertfordshire that warned the public not to commit crime.BBC News "Police mocked for 'obvious' signs" "BBC News website", September 13, 2007
In 2006 its supporters voted Bill Shankly the author of the greatest footballing quotation of all time.Sky News, "Best Footie Quote Ever?" "Sky News website", July 07, 2006 A 2004 survey revealed that ‘At the end of the day’ was considered the most irritating cliché.BBC News, "Campaign's call to ditch cliches" "BBC News website", March 24, 2004,
Chrissie Maher was awarded the OBE in 1994 for her services to plain communication.
Famous supporters of PEC include Margaret Thatcher D E Ager "Ideology and Image" "Ideology and Image", May 2003 and broadcaster John Humphrys.BBC Press Office, "John Humphrys" "Biographies", December 2004
Legal writing is a type of technical writing used by legislators, lawyers, judges, and others in law to express legal analysis and legal rights and duties.
The Danish Wikipedia started on 1 February 2002 and is the Danish-language edition of Wikipedia. As of December 28, 2008 it has over 100,000 articles. Since Danish is mutually intelligible with Swedish and Norwegian, administrators of the site collaborate with those at the respective Wikipedias through the Skanwiki section of the Wikimedia Meta-Wiki site.
There are two Norwegian language editions of Wikipedia: one for articles written in Bokmål (or, occasionally Riksmål), and one for articles written in Nynorsk. The first site, the original Norwegian Wikipedia, launched on November 26, 2001, and originally allowed articles to be written in any written Norwegian standard. A Nynorsk-specific Wikipedia was launched on July 31, 2004 and grew quickly. Following a vote in 2005, the main Norwegian site became Bokmål only.
By February 2007, the Bokmål/Riksmål edition had over 100,000 articles and the Nynorsk site had over 20,000 articles. In February 2006, it became the thirteenth Wikipedia to have more than 50,000 articles, and one year later it was the fourteenth to reach 100,000. However, after the Finnish Wikipedia surpassed it in April 2006 it is once again the 14th largest Wikipedia by article count http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Complete_list_of_language_Wikipedias_available. As of February 16, 2009, the Bokmål/Riksmål contains more than 200,000 articles, while the Nynorsk version contains over 45,000.
Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish are mutually intelligible languages and can be understood by most speakers of each. The sites collaborate with the other Scandinavian Wikipedias through the Skanwiki section of Wikimedia's Meta-Wiki site. One effect of this combined effort is the sharing of featured articles between the different Wikipedias.
Despite the fact that the ISO 639 two-letter code for Bokmål is nb, the Bokmål and Riksmål Norwegian Wikipedia continues to be hosted at no.wikipedia.org, as it is not only Bokmål, and because the no code is far better known. The Nynorsk code is nn, and the Nynorsk Wikipedia is hosted at nn.wikipedia.org.
Wikimedia Norge is a Norwegian membership association with the purpose to support Wikimedia's projects, in particular those in Norwegian and Sami languages, and aiming to become a national chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation. The association was formed at a meeting at the National Library in Oslo on June 23, 2007. The chairman is Marius Helgå.
The Simple English Wikipedia is an English edition of the Wikipedia encyclopedia, written in primarily Basic English and Special English. The site's stated aim is to be useful for children, those learning English, those wanting to know basic information about a topic (not in depth),Blakely, Rhys. (March 24, 2007) The Times. The week on the web. Section: Home news; Page 36. those who are partially literate in English, and those who have learning disabilities. It also intends to serve as a basis for translating articles to other Wikipedias.Wikipedia:Simple English Wikipedia (from the Simple English Wikipedia), retrieved on November 17, 2006.
Many articles are shorter than their English Wikipedia counterparts.
On July 26, 2006, the Simple English Wikipedia reached 10,000 articles. As of February 3, 2009, it has over 54,700 articles, over 127,000 pages, and over 44,300 registered users.Special:Statistics (from the Simple English Wikipedia), retrieved on February 3, 2009.
[Abstract not available for the article]
Legal English is the style of English used by lawyers and other legal professionals in the course of their work. It has particular relevance when applied to the drafting of written material, including:
* legal documents: contracts, licences etc * court pleadings: summonses, briefs, judgments etc * laws: Acts of parliament and subordinate legislation, case reports * legal correspondence
Legal English has traditionally been the preserve of lawyers from English-speaking countries (such as the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) which have shared common law traditions. However, due to the spread of English as the predominant language of international business, as well as its role as a legal language within the European Union, legal English is now a global phenomenon.
[Abstract not available for the category]
Rudolf Flesch (8 May 1911 – 5 October 1986) was an author, readability expert, and writing consultant who was an early and vigorous proponent of plain English in the United States. He created the Flesch Reading Ease test and was co-creator of the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test. He was raised in Austria and finished university there, studying law. He then moved to the United States and entered a graduate program at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D in English.
Not long after finishing his degree, he wrote what became his most famous book, Why Johnny Can't Read, in 1955. The book was a focused critique of the then-trendy movement to teach reading by sight, often called the "look-say" method. The flaw of this approach, according to Flesch, was that it required learners to memorize words by sight. When confronted with an unknown word, the learner was stumped. Flesch advocated a return to phonics, the teaching of reading by teaching learners to sound out words.
Flesch flourished as a writing teacher, plain-English consultant, and author. He wrote many books on the subject of clear, effective communication: How to Test Readability (1951), How to Write Better (1951), The Art of Plain Talk (1946), The Art of Readable Writing (1962), The ABC of Style: A Guide to Plain English (1964), and Rudolf Flesch on Business Communications: How to Say What You Mean in Plain English (1972).
Flesch produced three other books of note:
In The Art of Clear Thinking (1951), Flesch consolidates research data and then-recent findings from the fields of psychology and education, and suggests how his readers can apply that information in their daily life. As he writes in his introduction, "It would be impudent to tell intelligent, grown up people how to think. All I have tried to do here is to assemble certain known facts about the human mind and put them in plain English."
In Lite English (1983), Flesch advocated the use of many colloquial and informal words. The subtitle of the book reveals his bias: Popular Words That Are OK to Use No Matter What William Safire, John Simon, Edwin Newman, and the Other Purists Say!
And in 1979, Flesch published a book he had produced while working as a communication and writing consultant to the Federal Communications Commission: How to Write Plain English: A Book for Lawyers and Consumers. This book was and is a "how to" for writing rules and regulations that must be read and understood by the general public.
Flesch practiced what he preached. His writing is clear, vigorous, and plain; his style is direct and energizing. Those who read How to Write Plain English often comment that his writing motivates them to write more plainly. For example, here is Flesch on clearing up legalese:
"Well, it's been my experience that lawyers are apt to use Plain English right up to the point where the going gets tough. Then they'll say, This idea is too complex—it can't be put into Plain English no matter how hard you try. . . . On that theory, you would draft a legal document, and just when the poor layman needed special help in understanding it, you would leave him in the lurch." How to Write Plain English at 3.
The Flesch/Flesch–Kincaid Readability Tests are designed to indicate comprehension difficulty when reading a passage of contemporary academic English. There are two tests, the Flesch Reading Ease, and the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level. Although they use the same core measures (word length and sentence length), they have different weighting factors, so the results of the two tests correlate imperfectly: a text with a comparatively high score on the Reading Ease test may have a lower score on the Grade Level test. Both systems were devised by Rudolf Flesch.
Polish Wikipedia () is the Polish edition of Wikipedia. The ninth edition of Wikipedia, it was started in September 26 2001. As of May 2008, it has more than 500,000 articles and is the fourth largest Wikipedia edition (after the English, German, and French editions). It is also the largest edition in a Slavic language by the number of articles.
The Polish Wikipedia originated as an independent project under the domain wiki.rozeta.com.pl. At the suggestion of the founders of the English Wikipedia, the site was incorporated in the international project as http://pl.wikipedia.com on January 12, 2002 and as http://pl.wikipedia.org later that year on November 22. To avoid domain squatting that could frustrate potential users, the Polish Wikipedia also has its own domain www.wikipedia.pl that redirects to pl.wikipedia.org.
Polish Wikipedia has quite low depth parameters compared to other Slavic editions.http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wikipedias As of May 2008, of all 100,000+ editions only Volapük Wikipedia shows a slightly lower depth coefficient than the Polish Wikipedia.
The words "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" in Polish are Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia, pronounced .
[Abstract not available for the category]
Readability tests, readability formulas, or readability metrics are formulae for evaluating the readability of text, usually by counting syllables, words, and sentences. Readability tests are often used as an alternative to conducting an actual statistical survey of human readers of the subject text (a readability survey). Word processing applications often have readability tests in-built, which can be deployed on documents in-editing.
The application of a useful readability test protocol will give a rough indication of a work's readability, with accuracy increasing when finding the average readability of a large number of works. The tests generate a score based on characteristics such as statistical average word length (which is a used as a proxy for semantic difficulty) and sentence length (as a proxy for syntactic complexity) of the work.
Some readability formulas refer to a list of words graded for difficulty. These formulas attempt to overcome the fact that some words, like "television", are well known to younger children, but have many syllables. In practice, however, the utility of simple word and sentence length measures make them more popular for readability formulas. Scores are compared with scales based on judged linguistic difficulty or reading grade level. Many readability formulas measure word length in syllables rather than letters, but only SMOG has a computerized readability program incorporating an accurate syllable counter.
Since readability formulas do not take the meanings of words into account, they are not considered definitive measures of readability.
[Abstract not available for the article]
Wielka Encyklopedia PWN (Great PWN Encyclopedia) is a universal encyclopedia in Polish, published by Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (State Scientific Publishers, PWN) in Warsaw, between 2001 and 2005.
It is a replacement for the socialist-era Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (Great Universal Encyclopedia), which was considered outdated and criticised for reflecting the official ideology of the period when it was produced (1962-1970). It surpasses the its predecessor in size, with 140 thousand entries in 30 volumes plus a supplement and is now the largest Polish "traditional" encyclopedia ever written.
The Polish Wikipedia exceeded the Great PWN Encyclopedia's number of articles on 22 October 2005.
Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (Great Universal Encyclopedia PWN) was, until 2005, the largest Polish encyclopedia ever written. It was published between 1962 and 1970 by Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (State Scientific Publishers, PWN) in Warsaw. The WEP contains about 82,000 entries, 12,000 illustrations, 200 color and 650 black-and-white inserted illustrations, and 120 color maps in thirteen volumes (including the Supplement). Many entries are signed, and many contain bibliographic material. The encyclopedia shows severe censorship. As is stated in the foreword, the encyclopedia is "based on rationalist and materialist assumptions" and reflects the worldview of the "socialist ideology".
About 2000 authors, 1000 reviewers, and almost 100 editors were supervised by the Scientific Board appointed by the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the Ministry of Higher Education, and headed by Professor Tadeusz Kotarbiński. The initiative to write the WEP was taken by PWN in July 1957 when it was decided that an 8-volume (lated expanded to 12 volumes) universal encyclopedia would be published. Preparations began in 1957 and the actual writing started in April 1959. It took 14 months to prepare the list of entries, about 16 months to write the first volume, and then about 9 months for each next volume. Right after the twelfth volume had been published, the work on the Supplement (about 5 thousand updated, revised or completely new articles) began.
Obfuscation is the concealment of meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret.
Business speak, also management speak refers to a particular tone of voice often used in large organizations. The tone is associated with managers of large corporations, business management consultants, and occasionally government. The term is typically derogatory, implying the use of long, complicated, or obscure words, abbreviations, or acronyms. Some of these words may be new inventions, designed purely to fit the specialized meaning of a situation. Frequently management speak is used to "spin" negative situations as positive situations.
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[Abstract not available for the article]
The Automated Readability Index (ARI) is a readability test designed to gauge the understandability of a text. Like the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning-Fog Index, SMOG Index, Fry Readability Formula, and Coleman-Liau Index, its output is an approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text.
Unlike the other indices, the ARI, along with the Coleman-Liau, relies on a factor of characters per word, instead of the usual syllables per word. Although opinion varies on its accuracy as compared to the syllables/word and complex words indices, characters/word is often easier to calculate, as the number of characters is more readily and accurately counted by computer programs than syllables.
Baidu Baike (; translation: Baidu Encyclopedia) is a Chinese language collaborative Web-based encyclopedia provided by the Chinese search engine Baidu. It initially prospered in the wake of the blocking of Wikipedia in mainland China on October 19 2005. The test version was released on April 20, 2006, and within three weeks, the encyclopedia had grown to more than 90,000 articles, surpassing that of Chinese Wikipedia. According to the BBC, the site is "heavily self-censored to avoid offending the Chinese government" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4761301.stm.
This is a list of encyclopedias sorted by branch of knowledge. For other sorting criteria, see List of encyclopedias.
==Encyclopedias before 1700== *Pliny's Natural History AD 77. Highly influential in the Middle Ages. *Cassiodorus' Institutiones, AD 560. First Christian encyclopedia. *Yiwen Leiju (622) Tang dynasty, Chinese *St. Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae, AD 636. Christian encyclopedia, most influential encyclopedia of the early Middle Ages. *Fa yüan chu lin, AD 668, a Buddhist encyclopedia of 100 volumes, compiled by Tao-shih *Adab al-katib (The book of knowledge) by Ibn Qutayba (828–889). Earliest Arabic work that could be called an Encyclopedia. *Bibliotheke by Patriarch Photius (9th century). Earliest Byzantine work that could be called an Encyclopedia. *Hrabanus Maurus, 842. De rerum naturis (On the nature of things). Derived from Isidore's text. *Suda (10th century) *Four Great Books of Song (Song Sida Shu)(10th to 11th century) Song dynasty, Chinese *Liber Floridus, compiled in 1120 by Lambert of St. Omer *Bartholomeus de Glanvilla, De proprietatibus rerum, 1240. The most widely read and quoted encyclopedia in the late-medieval period. *Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Majus, 1260. The most ambitious encyclopedia in the late-medieval period over 3 million words. *Yongle Encyclopedia (1403–1408). Ming Dynasty Chinese encyclopedia. *Paul Skalic, philosopher born in Zagreb, first to use the term encyclopedia in the current sense. Encyclopediae seu orbis disciplinarum tam sacrarum quam profanarum epistemon, 1559 (Basel, Switzerland), 1571 (Köln, Germany). *Theodor Zwinger (1533–1588), Theatrum Vitae Humanae, 1588. *Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) (1596) Ming dynasty, Chinese *Sancai Tuhui (1609) * Sir Thomas Browne: Pseudodoxia Epidemica 1646-1672 *Louis Moréri Le grand Dictionaire historique (The Great Historical Dictionary), 1671. *Pierre Bayle: Dictionnaire Historique et Critique (Historical and Critical Dictionary), 1695. *Vincenzo Coronelli publisher of Biblioteca Universale Sacro-Profana early 18th century, the first encyclopedia to be alphabetical. *John Henry Alsted *John Jacob Hoffman
The Coleman-Liau Index is a readability test designed by Meri Coleman and T. L. Liau to gauge the understandability of a text. Like the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning-Fog Index, SMOG Index, and Automated Readability Index, its output approximates the U.S. grade level thought necessary to comprehend the text.
Like the ARI but unlike most of the other indices, Coleman-Liau relies on characters instead of syllables per word. Although opinion varies on its accuracy as compared to the syllable/word and complex word indices, characters are more readily and accurately counted by computer programs than are syllables.
[Abstract not available for the article]
Hudong (formerly Hoodong, "Interactive Online"; Chinese: 互动在线, Hanyu Pinyin: Hùdòng Zàixiàn) is a Chinese encyclopedia website that was founded in 2005 by CEO Dr. Pan Haidong.
The Mindong Wikipedia is the Mindong Chinese edition of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. The project was started on September 30, 2006. The writing system used in Mindong Wikipedia is Foochow Romanized, a romanized orthography based on the standard Fuzhou dialect that was introduced by Western missionaries in the 19th century, and Chinese Characters although most articles are in Foochow.
The Classical Chinese Wikipedia (文言維基大典) is the Classical Chinese edition of Wikipedia, which is run by the Wikimedia Foundation. Started on July 31 2006, Qi Xi of the year, the Classical Chinese Wikipedia has over 2,100 articles as of November 2008. It mainly consists of information on Chinese history, especially about the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period.
Unlike other Chinese Wikipedias, there is a difference in the naming convention of the Classical Chinese Wikipedia’s title. The title uses the term dàdiǎn (大典) instead of the term bǎikē (百科). This is because the term bǎikē was not used in Classical Chinese and also because the title follows the naming convention set by an encyclopedia called Yǒnglè Dàdiǎn (永樂大典, 1403), which was published during the Ming Dynasty.
The Classical Chinese Wikipedia also has many articles related to Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean culture. The Classical Chinese Wikipedia does not fully support the vertical writing system, the writing direction employed by writers of Classical Chinese in the past, because of technical issues. There is a limited vertical writing support for selected works of poetry. (Example) Numbers in the Classical Chinese Wikipedia are written in Chinese characters instead of Arabic numerals, unlike its other Chinese Wikipedia counterparts.
The Classical Chinese Wikipedia is influenced by writing styles from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau more than other Sinospheric cultures. For example: *It uses Traditional Chinese characters, which is the standard in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Therefore '教'(U+6559), which is the Taiwanese standard, is preferred over '敎'(U+654E), which is the Korean standard. *It uses modern Chinese punctuation.
Classical Chinese is taught as part of secondary school education in China, and is part of the university level entrance exminations.
The Chinese Encyclopedia () is a modern Chinese encyclopedia. It was published in the Republic of China from 1981 until 1983. It comprises 10 volumes and 38 categories, with more than 15,000 entries. Most of the editors were from Chinese Culture University and Zhonghua Xueshuyuan.
The Cantonese Wikipedia () is the Cantonese language edition of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. It started on 25 March 2006.
As a small community, from early on, Cantonese wikipedians have formed a consensus to follow by default the policies, guidelines, and customs of the English Wikipedia, wherever they are applicable. This consensus has provided stability and allows wikipedians to concentrate on the content. As of August 1, 2008, the Cantonese Wikipedia has over 190000 edits, over 8500 articles, and more than 6100 registered users, 11 of whom are administrators.
Cantonese is one of the six regional Chinese tongues to have its own Wikipedia. The other four are: Minnan Wikipedia (Main Page), Mindong Wikipedia (Main Page), Gan Wikipedia (Main Page), Wu Wikipedia (Main Page), and Hakka Wikipedia (Main Page). It is also the second largest Wikipedia edition of Chinese languages (including Classical Chinese Wikipedia).
The Encyclopedia of China (; "China Great Encyclopedia") is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began at 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, beginning in 1980 with a volume on astronomy; the final volume was completed in 1993. It comprised 74 volumes, with more than 80,000 entries. Arranged by subject, which numbered 66 (some subjects occupy more than one volume), within each subject, entries were arranged by pinyin as was many modern Chinese dictionaries.
A CD-ROM version, and a subscription-based online version are also available. A second and more concise edition of the work is expected to appear from 2007 onwards.
[Abstract not available for the category]
The Free Access to Law Movement is the umbrella name for the collective of legal projects across several common law countries to provide free online access to legal information such as case law and legislation. The movement began in 1992 with the creation of the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute by Tom Bruce and Peter Martin. <ref name= Myers>.</ref> The name Legal Information Institute has been widely adopted by other projects. It is usually prefixed by a country or region identifier.
#redirect Zipf's law
In linguistics, the Gunning fog index is a test designed to measure the readability of a sample of English writing. The resulting number is an indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading. That is, if a passage has a fog index of 12, it has the reading level of a U.S. high school senior. The test was developed by Robert Gunning, an American businessman, in 1952.<ref name="plaw">Plain Language At Work Newsletter, 23 March 2004, http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/newsletter/plwork08.htm</ref>
The fog index is generally used by people who want their writing to be read easily by a large segment of the population. Texts that are designed for a wide audience generally require a fog index of less than 12. Texts that require a close-to-universal understanding generally require an index of less than 8.
The Malayalam Wikipedia is the Malayalam-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia, and was launched on December 21, 2002. The project is far ahead of other Indic-language wikipedias in page depth, average edits per page, number of registered users and number of uploaded images. Presently it contains more than 7000 () articles.
The Kannada Wikipedia is the Kannada language edition of Wikipedia. Started in June 2003, it's moderately active and has about 4,900 articlesStatistics - Wikipedia as of November 25th, 2007, making it the 96th biggest Wikipedia edition.
The Kannada Wikipedia community held a meeting in Bangalore on April 2nd, 2006, which got fairly high press coverage.Wikipedia Event Press Coverage
Telugu Wikipedia was started on December 9, 2003, it is currently the largest Wikipedia in an Indian language. Telugu is the second largest spoken language in India, and mostly spoken in the State of Andhra Pradesh. As of December 28, 2007 there are more than 38,125 articles in the Telugu Wikipedia.
The Welsh Wikipedia (Welsh: Wicipedia Cymraeg or plain Wicipedia) is the Welsh-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was started in July 2003. On June 23, 2007 it reached 10,000 articles, the 66th Wikipedia to do so. More recently, on 20 November 2008 it attained 20,000 articles. It currently has over 20,200 articles and is now the 62nd largest wikipedia (November 2008).Metwiki It is the only internet resource of its kind in Welsh, and therefore has an important place in Welsh language on-line culture.
The Welsh wikipedia has been growing at a considerable rate, for its size, over the last few years, with over 10,000 articles created in less than 18 months in the period June 2007 - November 2008, doubling its total. It has often been referred to in the Welsh-language press, for instance in the current affairs magazine Golwg Jac Codi Baw, "Wiki-peidio", Golwg, October 16 2008, p. 30 and Y Faner Newydd, and is listed by the National Library of Wales as a Welsh-language e-resource.National Library of Wales
In an August 2007 interview, Jimmy Wales, founder of the Wikipedia, used the Welsh Wikipedia as an example of the rationale for having wikipedias in smaller languages: :"Certainly within Wikipedia right now we are seeing some fairly successful projects in small European languages. You don't really need a Welsh language Wikipedia, perhaps. The number of people who speak Welsh who don't also speak English is very small and getting smaller every year. So why do we have a Welsh Wikipedia? Well, people wanted it, so they're making it. And language preservation is the main motive. It is their mother tongue and they want to keep it alive, keep its literature alive. Certainly some of the larger small languages like Basque and Catalan have very successful projects. I definitely see that preserving parts of your language and culture through collaborative projects makes a lot of sense."Interview on geekillustrated.com, August 2007
The Breton Wikipedia is the Breton language version of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. It was established in June 2004; as of August 2008 it has over 20,000 articles, making it the 56th largest Wikipedia by article count. It is also the largest Wikipedia edition in a Celtic language.
The Romansh Wikipedia (Vichipedia rumantscha) is the Romansh language version of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. It was established in December 2003. In February 2008 it had 3,150 articles and 1,420 registered wikipedians. <ref name=stats>Statistics for Romansh Wikipedia</ref>
The project was undertaken by two brothers from the eastern canton of Graubünden, Gion-Andri and Martin Cantieni, lated supported by other contributors. According to the Romansh newspaper La Quotidiana, the first two years were financed by a contribution of SFr60,000 ($58,502) from the canton and the federal government."Wikipedia expands into Romansh", July 5, 2008
The Egyptian Arabic Wikipedia or Wikipedia Masry (Egyptian Arabic: <big>ويكيبيديا مصرى</big> Wīkībīdyā Maṣrī) is the Egyptian Arabic version of Wikipedia, a free, open-content encyclopaedia. This Wikipedia primarily acts as an alternative to the Arabic Wikipedia in favour of speakers of Egyptian Arabic.
The Limburgish Wikipedia (Limburgish: Limburgse Wikipedia, Wikipedia in 't Plat and abbreviated as li: within the Wikimedia Community) is the Limburgish-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was started in December 2004. As of 30 December 2008, the encyclopedia contained 4415 articles.
The Tamil Wikipedia (தமிழ் விக்கிப்பீடியா) is the Tamil language version of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. It was established in September 2003; as of August 19, 2008, it has 15,010 articles, making it the 67th largest Wikipedia by article count. It is also the second Wikipedia of Dravidian origin to possess more than 10,000 articles (the first being the Telugu edition).
The Amharic Wikipedia is the Amharic language version of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. It was established in December 2002; as of November 20, 2008, it has 3,244 articles, making it the 115th largest Wikipedia by article count. It is also the only Wikipedia language edition in a South Semitic language with over 1,000 articles.
The Irish Wikipedia is the Irish-language version of Wikipedia, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and established in October 2003. As of 16 August 2008, it had 7,509 articles, making it the 93rd largest Wikipedia by article count.
Māori Wikipedia (Wikipedia Māori) is the Māori language edition of Wikipedia. It was started in November 2003; as of July 27, 2008, it possesses 6,477 articles and is the 88th largest Wikipedia. Along with the Tongan Wikipedia and the Hawaiian Wikipedia, it is one of three Wikipedia editions in a Malayo-Polynesian language that have crossed the 1,000 mark.
A is a Japanese fictional character who is created, often by a local government, to represent their region. They are usually created around actual local legends, but are portrayed as tokusatsu heroes, often borrowing themes and costumes from popular series. Some local heroes, such as from Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, and from Tōno, Iwate Prefecture, gain mainstream popularity. Chōjin Neiger has had several radio drama CDs released, as well as theme songs. Ichirou Mizuki sang , and Mitsuko Horie performed . Other popular local heroes include: * of Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo *Marimokkori of Hokkaidō * of Noshiro, Akita Prefecture * of Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture * of Gunma Prefecture * who are part of the Tokyo Motor Show * of Sado, Niigata Prefecture * of Fukui, Fukui Prefecture * of Nabari, Mie Prefecture
The Serbo-Croatian Wikipedia (Wikipedija na srpskohrvatskom jeziku), also Croato-Serbian Wikipedia (Wikipedija na hrvatskosrpskom jeziku), is the Serbo-Croatian version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This version has, as of July 18, 2007, more than 11,800 articles.
This Wikipedia was locked in early 2005 as inactive, but was opened again soon.meta:Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Serbo-Croatian
Public legal education comprises a range of activities intended to build public awareness and skills related to law and the justice system. This term also refers to the fields of practice and study concerned with those activities, and to a social and professional movement that advocates greater societal commitment to educating people about the law. Distinct from the education of students in law school seeking a degree in law (which is often simply called "legal education") and the continuing professional education of lawyers and judges (which is sometimes called "Continuing Legal Education"), public legal education is principally aimed at people who are not lawyers, judges, or degree-seeking law students.
The term public legal education (PLE) is related to, and may encompass, several similar terms. The terms public legal information and public legal education and information (PLEI) emphasize a difference between educating and providing information. The term community legal education is common in Australia and the United States, where it often refers to community-based public legal education activities led by legal aid organizations. The term law-related education (LRE) usually refers to public legal education in primary and secondary schools (and sometimes in higher education), as opposed to PLE for adults and outside of school. Cassidy, Wanda (2000). "Law-Related Education: Promoting Awareness, Participation, and Action", 297–98, in Weaving Connections: Educating for Peace, Social and Environmental Justice (Tara Goldstein & David Selby, eds.). ISBN 1-894549-01-5.
The Afrikaans Wikipedia (Afrikaans: Afrikaanse Wikipedia) is an Afrikaans language edition of the Web-based free-content encyclopedia Wikipedia. The project was started on November 16, 2001, and was the 11th Wikipedia to be created."Wikipedia:2001", English-language Wikipedia (December 16 2006) As of 16 June 2008, this edition has over 10, 000 articlesAfrikaans Wikipedia statistics page and is the 78th largest Wikipedia by number of articles. Aside from South Africans, this Wikipedia is also used and edited by people from The Netherlands, Belgium, Namibia, Germany and some from Scandinavia.Meta-Wiki's list of language Wikipedias ordered by size
Keyinpedia(Simplified Chinese: 科印百科) is an online Chinese encyclopedia based in mainland China. It started operation in February, 2005. By November, 2006, keyinpedia contains 38,112 articles, many of which are the same as Wikipedia.
Being part of the website www.keyin.cn(), which is under KeyinPrint Media, Keyinpedia is similar to Wikipedia, in terms of format and contents. Keyinpedia supports reading in four different Chinese, mainland simplified Chinese, Taiwan traditional Chinese, Singapore simplified Chinese and Hong Kong traditional Chinese.
Because of the Blocking of Wikipedia in mainland China, a few Chinese internet companies intent to open Wikipedia-like Chinese language online encyclopedia. In April 2006, search engine Baidu opened its own encyclopedia, known as Baidupedia or, more accurately, as Baidu Baike.
Albanian Wikipedia (Wikipedia shqip) is the Albanian language edition of Wikipedia started in October 12, 2003. As of April 22, 2008 the Wikipedia has over 20,000 articles<ref name=meta-wiki>List of Wikipedias</ref>Albanian Wikipedia statistics and is the 52nd largest wikipedia.<ref name=meta-wiki/>
The Thai Wikipedia () is the edition of Wikipedia in the Thai language started in December 2003. As of December 6, 2007, it has more than 30,000 articles with 32,000 registered users. As of October 2007, Wikipedia (all languages combined) was ranked 26<sup>th</sup> in Alexa Top Sites Thailand Top sites Thailand from Alexa.
On January 31, 2006 Thai Wikipedia was first recognized along with English Wikipedia by a press coverage. In 2007 there is a thesis under the name Thai Wikipedia and Communicating Knowledge to the Public by a graduate student from Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
Thai Wikipedia was also mentioned during a public forum in 2005-2006 Thai political crisis telling that Thai people should read all facts about Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister. audio file on 26 July 2006
Thai Wikipedia is the second online encyclopedia in Thai language after Thai Junior Encyclopedia Project under patronage of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The Slovak Wikipedia (Slovenská Wikipédia) is the edition of Wikipedia in the Slovak language. It was started in October 2003, only becoming active in the summer of 2004. It cleared the 15,000-article mark in September 2005 and the 50,000-article mark in August 2006 and the 100,000 article mark in August 2008. The Slovak Wikipedia has over 100,000 articles as of August 28, 2008. The Slovak Wikipedia is among the largest Slavic-language Wikipedia editions. There is a large amount of short bot-generated articles in the Slovak Wikipedia.
The Maltese Wikipedia () is the edition of Wikipedia in Maltese, the national language of Malta. As of November 2008, the Maltese Wikipedia has 2,260 articles.
The Arabic Wikipedia ( Wīkībīdyā al-ʿArabiyya or <big>ويكيبيديا، الموسوعة الحرة</big> Wīkībīdyā, al-Mawsūʿa al-Ḥurra) is the Arabic language version of Wikipedia. It started in July 2003. As of February 2009, it has over 90,000 articles, 358,000 pages, 150,000 registered users and 4100 files. The Arabic Wikipedia is currently the 27th largest edition of Wikipedia by article count, and the third by depth after the English and the Hebrew WikipediasList of Wikipedias by number of articles.
The design of the Arabic Wikipedia differs somewhat from other Wikipedias. Most notably, since Arabic is written right-to-left, the location of links is a mirror image of those Wikipedias in languages written left-to-right. Also, the background uses a traditional Arabic geometric tessellation pattern in place of the standard book.