diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index 9625f1680..275575ed1 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ FISH_OBJS := function.o builtin.o complete.o env.o exec.o	\
 	expand.o highlight.o history.o kill.o parser.o proc.o reader.o		\
 	sanity.o tokenizer.o wildcard.o wgetopt.o wutil.o input.o	\
 	output.o intern.o env_universal.o env_universal_common.o			\
-	input_common.o event.o signal.o io.o translate.o parse_util.o common.o \
+	input_common.o event.o signal.o io.o parse_util.o common.o \
 
 # Additional files used by builtin.o
 BUILTIN_FILES := builtin_help.c builtin_set.c builtin_commandline.c	\
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ BUILTIN_FILES := builtin_help.c builtin_set.c builtin_commandline.c	\
 # All objects that the system needs to build fish_pager
 FISH_PAGER_OBJS := fish_pager.o output.o wutil.o		\
 	tokenizer.o input_common.o env_universal.o env_universal_common.o	\
-	translate.o common.o
+	common.o
 
 # All objects that the system needs to build fish_tests
 FISH_TESTS_OBJS := $(FISH_OBJS) fish_tests.o
diff --git a/builtin.c b/builtin.c
index a46fa6383..7bc08fb66 100644
--- a/builtin.c
+++ b/builtin.c
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
 #include "intern.h"
 #include "event.h"
 #include "signal.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "halloc.h"
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 #include "parse_util.h"
diff --git a/builtin_commandline.c b/builtin_commandline.c
index 42eb90166..fd7383eb4 100644
--- a/builtin_commandline.c
+++ b/builtin_commandline.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Functions used for implementing the commandline builtin.
 #include "tokenizer.h"
 #include "input_common.h"
 #include "input.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "parse_util.h"
 
 /**
diff --git a/builtin_complete.c b/builtin_complete.c
index 6531fd2b1..a9bf69e46 100644
--- a/builtin_complete.c
+++ b/builtin_complete.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Functions used for implementing the complete builtin.
 #include "wgetopt.h"
 #include "parser.h"
 #include "reader.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Internal storage for the builtin_get_temporary_buffer() function.
diff --git a/builtin_jobs.c b/builtin_jobs.c
index a527fdf0e..5a339cce9 100644
--- a/builtin_jobs.c
+++ b/builtin_jobs.c
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 #include "parser.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "wgetopt.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Print modes for the jobs builtin
diff --git a/builtin_set.c b/builtin_set.c
index b53e4bbd3..9266d2ba0 100644
--- a/builtin_set.c
+++ b/builtin_set.c
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Functions used for implementing the set builtin.
 #include "wgetopt.h"
 #include "proc.h"
 #include "parser.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Error message for invalid path operations
diff --git a/builtin_ulimit.c b/builtin_ulimit.c
index 6b8c7b7ee..3dc11d6d9 100644
--- a/builtin_ulimit.c
+++ b/builtin_ulimit.c
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Functions used for implementing the ulimit builtin.
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "wgetopt.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Struct describing a resource limit
diff --git a/common.h b/common.h
index f08310775..84aa22c0a 100644
--- a/common.h
+++ b/common.h
@@ -96,6 +96,16 @@ extern wchar_t *program_name;
 		exit(1);														\
 	}																	\
 		
+/**
+   Shorthand for wgettext call
+*/
+#define _(wstr) wgettext(wstr)
+
+/**
+   Noop, used to tell xgettext that a string should be translated, even though it is not directly sent to wgettext.
+*/
+#define N_(wstr) wstr
+
 /**
    Take an array_list_t containing wide strings and converts them to a
    single null-terminated wchar_t **. The array is allocated using
diff --git a/complete.c b/complete.c
index 4cda7c8d5..48b80090f 100644
--- a/complete.c
+++ b/complete.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 #include "reader.h"
 #include "history.h"
 #include "intern.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "parse_util.h"
 #include "halloc.h"
 #include "halloc_util.h"
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index b4eb2d264..86f86beb1 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ AC_DEFINE([HAVE_TRANSLATE_H], [1],
 			  [Define to 1 if the wgettext function should be used for translating strings.])
 
 # Check for presense of various libraries
-AC_SEARCH_LIBS( gettext, intl, AC_SUBST( HAVE_GETTEXT, [1] ), AC_SUBST( HAVE_GETTEXT, [0] ) )
+AC_SEARCH_LIBS( gettext, intl,,)
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS( connect, socket, , [AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find the socket library, needed to build this package.] )] )
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS( nanosleep, rt, , [AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find the rt library, needed to build this package.] )] )
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS( setupterm, [ncurses curses], , [AC_MSG_ERROR([Could not find a curses implementation, needed to build fish])] )
diff --git a/env.c b/env.c
index 342c83092..2729af8f4 100644
--- a/env.c
+++ b/env.c
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
 #include "env_universal.h"
 #include "input_common.h"
 #include "event.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "complete.h"
 
 /**
diff --git a/event.c b/event.c
index bea6187f8..61e317c56 100644
--- a/event.c
+++ b/event.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 #include "common.h"
 #include "event.h"
 #include "signal.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 
 /**
diff --git a/exec.c b/exec.c
index 168719080..17e3f9cd3 100644
--- a/exec.c
+++ b/exec.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 #include "expand.h"
 #include "signal.h"
 #include "env_universal.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "halloc.h"
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 #include "parse_util.h"
diff --git a/expand.c b/expand.c
index c1d89fae9..a83dcfa37 100644
--- a/expand.c
+++ b/expand.c
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ parameter expansion.
 #include "signal.h"
 #include "tokenizer.h"
 #include "complete.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "parse_util.h"
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 
diff --git a/fallback.c b/fallback.c
index 95889ede1..cad56171f 100644
--- a/fallback.c
+++ b/fallback.c
@@ -1029,6 +1029,25 @@ int futimes(int fd, const struct timeval *times)
 	return -1;
 }
 
+#endif
+
+#ifndef HAVE_GETTEXT
+
+char * gettext (const char * msgid)
+{
+	return msgid;
+}
+
+char * bindtextdomain (const char * domainname, const char * dirname)
+{
+	return 0;
+}
+
+char * textdomain (const char * domainname)
+{
+	return 0;
+}
 
 #endif
 
+
diff --git a/fallback.h b/fallback.h
index 066539622..4ad55cfaa 100644
--- a/fallback.h
+++ b/fallback.h
@@ -325,5 +325,14 @@ int futimes(int fd, const struct timeval *times);
 
 #endif
 
+#ifndef HAVE_GETTEXT
+
+char * gettext (const char * msgid);
+char * bindtextdomain (const char * domainname, const char * dirname);
+char * textdomain (const char * domainname);
+
+#endif
+
+
 #endif
 
diff --git a/function.c b/function.c
index 5989fd221..cc39d9eaf 100644
--- a/function.c
+++ b/function.c
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 
 #include "function.h"
 #include "proc.h"
-#include "translate.h"
 #include "parser.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "intern.h"
diff --git a/input.c b/input.c
index 84ba51202..edd8aa200 100644
--- a/input.c
+++ b/input.c
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ implementation in fish is as of yet incomplete.
 #include "expand.h"
 #include "event.h"
 #include "signal.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "output.h"
 #include "intern.h"
 
diff --git a/io.c b/io.c
index c657bce90..77e8e4fc9 100644
--- a/io.c
+++ b/io.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Utilities for io redirection.
 #include "exec.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "io.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "halloc.h"
 
 
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index 458c6841f..eb8b452bb 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
 #include "exec.h"
 #include "event.h"
 #include "output.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 #include "history.h"
 
diff --git a/parse_util.c b/parse_util.c
index 164269c02..482cae347 100644
--- a/parse_util.c
+++ b/parse_util.c
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 #include "intern.h"
 #include "exec.h"
 #include "env.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "wildcard.h"
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 
diff --git a/parser.c b/parser.c
index 1ab7972f8..188390e53 100644
--- a/parser.c
+++ b/parser.c
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ The fish parser. Contains functions for parsing code.
 #include "sanity.h"
 #include "env_universal.h"
 #include "event.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "intern.h"
 #include "parse_util.h"
 #include "halloc.h"
diff --git a/proc.c b/proc.c
index f3c5eebcf..4c5e50dff 100644
--- a/proc.c
+++ b/proc.c
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ Some of the code in this file is based on code from the Glibc manual.
 #include "parser.h"
 #include "signal.h"
 #include "event.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "halloc.h"
 #include "halloc_util.h"
 #include "output.h"
diff --git a/reader.c b/reader.c
index 0779019e6..bca8bf864 100644
--- a/reader.c
+++ b/reader.c
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ commence.
 #include "function.h"
 #include "output.h"
 #include "signal.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #include "parse_util.h"
 
 /**
diff --git a/sanity.c b/sanity.c
index 7a7040026..f7e203239 100644
--- a/sanity.c
+++ b/sanity.c
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 #include "reader.h"
 #include "kill.h"
 #include "wutil.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Status from earlier sanity checks
diff --git a/signal.c b/signal.c
index 083478a82..1cd6e8830 100644
--- a/signal.c
+++ b/signal.c
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ The library for various signal related issues
 #include "event.h"
 #include "reader.h"
 #include "proc.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Struct describing an entry for the lookup table used to convert
diff --git a/tokenizer.c b/tokenizer.c
index 75343a5c6..d2b18e2ce 100644
--- a/tokenizer.c
+++ b/tokenizer.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 #include "tokenizer.h"
 #include "common.h"
 #include "wildcard.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    Error string for unexpected end of string
diff --git a/translate.c b/translate.c
deleted file mode 100644
index 744ff10af..000000000
--- a/translate.c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,144 +0,0 @@
-/** \file translate.c
-
-Translation library, internally uses catgets
-
-*/
-
-#include "config.h"
-
-
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <unistd.h>
-#include <wchar.h>
-
-#if HAVE_LIBINTL_H
-#include <libintl.h>
-#endif
-
-#include "common.h"
-#include "fallback.h"
-#include "util.h"
-
-#include "halloc_util.h"
-
-#if HAVE_GETTEXT
-
-/**
-   Number of string_buffer_t in the ring of buffers
-*/
-#define BUFF_COUNT 64
-
-/**
-   The ring of string_buffer_t
-*/
-static string_buffer_t buff[BUFF_COUNT];
-/**
-   Current position in the ring
-*/
-static int curr_buff=0;
-
-/**
-   Buffer used by translate_wcs2str
-*/
-static char *wcs2str_buff=0;
-/**
-   Size of buffer used by translate_wcs2str
-*/
-static size_t wcs2str_buff_count=0;
-
-/**
-   Flag to tell whether the translation library has been initialized
-*/
-static int is_init = 0;
-
-/**
-   Internal shutdown function. Automatically called on shutdown if the library has been initialized.
-*/
-static void internal_destroy()
-{
-	int i;
-
-	if( !is_init )
-		return;
-	
-	is_init = 0;
-	
-	for(i=0; i<BUFF_COUNT; i++ )
-		sb_destroy( &buff[i] );
-
-	free( wcs2str_buff );
-}
-
-/**
-   Internal init function. Automatically called when a translation is first requested.
-*/
-static void internal_init()
-{
-	int i;
-
-	is_init = 1;
-	
-	for(i=0; i<BUFF_COUNT; i++ )
-	{
-		sb_init( &buff[i] );
-	}
-	halloc_register_function_void( global_context, &internal_destroy );
-	
-	bindtextdomain( PACKAGE_NAME, LOCALEDIR );
-	textdomain( PACKAGE_NAME );
-}
-
-
-/**
-   Wide to narrow character conversion. Internal implementation that
-   avoids exessive calls to malloc
-*/
-static char *translate_wcs2str( const wchar_t *in )
-{
-	size_t len = MAX_UTF8_BYTES*wcslen(in)+1;
-	if( len > wcs2str_buff_count )
-	{
-		wcs2str_buff = realloc( wcs2str_buff, len );
-		if( wcs2str_buff == 0 )
-		{
-			DIE_MEM();
-		}
-	}
-	
-	wcstombs( wcs2str_buff, 
-			  in,
-			  MAX_UTF8_BYTES*wcslen(in)+1 );
-	
-	return wcs2str_buff;
-}
-
-const wchar_t *wgettext( const wchar_t *in )
-{
-	if( !in )
-		return in;
-
-	if( !is_init )
-		internal_init();
-		
-	char *mbs_in = translate_wcs2str( in );	
-	char *out = gettext( mbs_in );
-	wchar_t *wres=0;
-
-	sb_clear( &buff[curr_buff] );
-	
-	sb_printf( &buff[curr_buff], L"%s", out );
-	wres = (wchar_t *)buff[curr_buff].buff;
-	curr_buff = (curr_buff+1)%BUFF_COUNT;
-
-	return wres;
-}
-
-#else
-
-const wchar_t *wgettext( const wchar_t *in )
-{
-	return in;
-}
-
-#endif
diff --git a/translate.h b/translate.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 191235870..000000000
--- a/translate.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-/** \file translate.h
-
-Translation library, internally uses catgets
-
-*/
-
-/**
-   Shorthand for wgettext call
-*/
-#define _(wstr) wgettext(wstr)
-
-/**
-   Noop, used to tell xgettext that a string should be translated, even though it is not directly sent to wgettext.
-*/
-#define N_(wstr) wstr
-
-/**
-   Wide character wwrapper around the gettext function
-*/
-const wchar_t *wgettext( const wchar_t *in );
-
diff --git a/wgetopt.c b/wgetopt.c
index a3432073d..1767b9a61 100644
--- a/wgetopt.c
+++ b/wgetopt.c
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ static char *posixly_correct;
    Use translation functions if available
 */
 #ifdef HAVE_TRANSLATE_H
-#include "translate.h"
+
 #define _(wstr) wgettext(wstr)
 #else
 #define _(wstr) wstr
diff --git a/wildcard.c b/wildcard.c
index 3467faa29..982839930 100644
--- a/wildcard.c
+++ b/wildcard.c
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ wildcards using **.
 #include "complete.h"
 #include "reader.h"
 #include "expand.h"
-#include "translate.h"
+
 
 /**
    This flag is set in the flags parameter of wildcard_expand if the
diff --git a/wutil.c b/wutil.c
index ab49b2f4e..44ad5f59d 100644
--- a/wutil.c
+++ b/wutil.c
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@
 #include <limits.h>
 #include <libgen.h>
 
+#if HAVE_LIBINTL_H
+#include <libintl.h>
+#endif
 
 #include "fallback.h"
 #include "util.h"
@@ -76,6 +79,38 @@ static int wutil_calls = 0;
 */
 static struct wdirent my_wdirent;
 
+
+/**
+   For wgettext: Number of string_buffer_t in the ring of buffers
+*/
+#define BUFF_COUNT 64
+
+/**
+   For wgettext: The ring of string_buffer_t
+*/
+static string_buffer_t buff[BUFF_COUNT];
+/**
+   For wgettext: Current position in the ring
+*/
+static int curr_buff=0;
+
+/**
+   For wgettext: Buffer used by translate_wcs2str
+*/
+static char *wcs2str_buff=0;
+/**
+   For wgettext: Size of buffer used by translate_wcs2str
+*/
+static size_t wcs2str_buff_count=0;
+
+/**
+   For wgettext: Flag to tell whether the translation library has been initialized
+*/
+static int wgettext_is_init = 0;
+
+
+
+
 void wutil_init()
 {
 }
@@ -404,3 +439,82 @@ wchar_t *wbasename( const wchar_t *path )
 
 
 
+/**
+   For wgettext: Internal shutdown function. Automatically called on shutdown if the library has been initialized.
+*/
+static void wgettext_destroy()
+{
+	int i;
+
+	if( !wgettext_is_init )
+		return;
+	
+	wgettext_is_init = 0;
+	
+	for(i=0; i<BUFF_COUNT; i++ )
+		sb_destroy( &buff[i] );
+
+	free( wcs2str_buff );
+}
+
+/**
+   For wgettext: Internal init function. Automatically called when a translation is first requested.
+*/
+static void wgettext_init()
+{
+	int i;
+	
+	wgettext_is_init = 1;
+	
+	for(i=0; i<BUFF_COUNT; i++ )
+	{
+		sb_init( &buff[i] );
+	}
+	
+	halloc_register_function_void( global_context, &wgettext_destroy );
+	
+	bindtextdomain( PACKAGE_NAME, LOCALEDIR );
+	textdomain( PACKAGE_NAME );
+}
+
+
+/**
+   For wgettext: Wide to narrow character conversion. Internal implementation that
+   avoids exessive calls to malloc
+*/
+static char *wgettext_wcs2str( const wchar_t *in )
+{
+	size_t len = MAX_UTF8_BYTES*wcslen(in)+1;
+	if( len > wcs2str_buff_count )
+	{
+		wcs2str_buff = realloc( wcs2str_buff, len );
+		if( !wcs2str_buff )
+		{
+			DIE_MEM();
+		}
+	}
+	
+	return wcs2str_internal( in, wcs2str_buff);
+}
+
+const wchar_t *wgettext( const wchar_t *in )
+{
+	if( !in )
+		return in;
+	
+	if( !wgettext_is_init )
+		wgettext_init();
+	
+	char *mbs_in = wgettext_wcs2str( in );	
+	char *out = gettext( mbs_in );
+	wchar_t *wres=0;
+	
+	sb_clear( &buff[curr_buff] );
+	
+	sb_printf( &buff[curr_buff], L"%s", out );
+	wres = (wchar_t *)buff[curr_buff].buff;
+	curr_buff = (curr_buff+1)%BUFF_COUNT;
+	
+	return wres;
+}
+
diff --git a/wutil.h b/wutil.h
index 666ae67ce..aeb581b5e 100644
--- a/wutil.h
+++ b/wutil.h
@@ -118,5 +118,14 @@ wchar_t *wdirname( const wchar_t *path );
 */
 wchar_t *wbasename( const wchar_t *path );
 
+/**
+   Wide character wrapper around the gettext function. For historic
+   reasons, unlike the real gettext function, wgettext takes care of
+   setting the correct domain, etc. using the textdomain and
+   bindtextdomain functions. This should probably be moved out of
+   wgettext, so that wgettext will be nothing more than a wrapper
+   around gettext, like all other functions in this file.
+*/
+const wchar_t *wgettext( const wchar_t *in );
 
 #endif