Talk:Childfree

This article contains a translation of Childfree from en.wikipedia.

The language could be simplified in several places. There are quite a few complex words, including fertile, ethical, and sterile. --Auntof6 (talk) 17:15, 18 January 2014 (UTC)Reply

For which reason are the 3 words complex? Are there any other words besides? Angela Maureen (talk) 17:16, 18 January 2014 (UTC)Reply

They are complex because people with limited English probably wouldn't understand them. Keeping the language simple is the main goal here. It might help to imagine that you are talking to a small child. What words would that child understand? You could try looking up the words in a dictionary to see how they are explained. There is good information on writing simple English at Wikipedia:How to write Simple English pages. It would be good to read that, if you haven't read it already. --Auntof6 (talk) 18:24, 18 January 2014 (UTC)Reply

Now, I've read that 1400 times in the last 3 years, and they say to always write short sentences and simple words. They do not, however, include alternate words for certain others, like ethical, fertile, sterile. I understand your concern. I, however, can't always find better wording even if necessary. I can only write so simple on Simple English, you know. Angela Maureen (talk) 18:57, 18 January 2014 (UTC)Reply

It's not possible to list alternates for every complex word. That would take a dictionary or a thesaurus, but even those don't say which words are more complex and which are simpler. In the past I've suggested trying one of the online tools that tell you the grade level or difficulty level of text. Maybe one of those would help. Maybe it would be good for you to write in your userspace and have people help you before your articles go to mainspace.

I know writing simple English is hard. It's harder than writing regular English because you have to have a very good understanding of English and all its complexities. English is one of the hardest languages in the world to begin with, and trying to use a subset of it can make it even harder. If it's too hard, maybe you would enjoy writing for the regular English Wikipedia instead.

The bottom line is that we have to write simple language here. That is the whole reason for this Wikipedia. There are people who would like to see Simple English Wikipedia shut down. If our articles aren't simple, then there's no reason for this Wikipedia to exist. --Auntof6 (talk) 21:45, 18 January 2014 (UTC)Reply