diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 4c3164e3f..8e6e71d4e 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -41,15 +41,15 @@ require('wp-blog-header.php');
 	
 <div class="post">
 	 <h3 class="storytitle" id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>"><a href="<?php echo get_permalink() ?>" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: <?php the_title(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h3>
-	<div class="meta"><?php $lang->str('filed_under'); ?> <?php the_category() ?> &#8212; <?php the_author() ?> @ <?php the_time() ?> <?php edit_post_link(); ?></div>
+	<div class="meta"><?php _e("Filed under:"); ?> <?php the_category() ?> &#8212; <?php the_author() ?> @ <?php the_time() ?> <?php edit_post_link(); ?></div>
 	
 	<div class="storycontent">
 		<?php the_content(); ?>
 	</div>
 	
 	<div class="feedback">
-		<?php link_pages('<br />'.$lang->str('pages','',1).' ', '<br />', 'number'); ?> 
-		<?php comments_popup_link($lang->str('comment_count_0','',1), $lang->str('comment_count_1','',1), $lang->str('comment_count_n','',1)); ?> 
+            <?php link_pages('<br />'. __("Pages:").' ', '<br />', 'number'); ?>
+            <?php comments_popup_link(__("Comments (0)"), __("Comments (1)"), __("Comments (%)")); ?>
 	</div>
 	
 	<!--
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ require('wp-blog-header.php');
 </div>
 
 <?php } } else { // end foreach, end if any posts ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('no_posts_matched'); ?></p>
+<p><?php _e("Sorry, no posts matched your criteria."); ?></p>
 <?php } ?>
 </div>
 
@@ -70,21 +70,21 @@ require('wp-blog-header.php');
 
 <ul>
 	<?php get_links_list(); ?>
- <li id="categories"><?php $lang->str('categories'); ?>
+ <li id="categories"><?php _e("Categories:"); ?>
 	<ul>
 	<?php wp_list_cats(); ?>
 	</ul>
  </li>
  <li id="search">
-   <label for="s"><?php $lang->str('search'); ?></label>	
+   <label for="s"><?php _e("Search:"); ?></label>	
    <form id="searchform" method="get" action="<?php echo $PHP_SELF; ?>">
 	<div>
 		<input type="text" name="s" id="s" size="15" /><br />
-		<input type="submit" name="submit" value="<?php $lang->str('search_button'); ?>" />
+		<input type="submit" name="submit" value="<?php _e("search"); ?>" />
 	</div>
 	</form>
  </li>
- <li id="archives"><?php $lang->str('archives'); ?>
+ <li id="archives"><?php _e("Archives"); ?>
  	<ul>
 	 <?php get_archives('monthly'); ?>
  	</ul>
@@ -92,18 +92,19 @@ require('wp-blog-header.php');
  <li id="calendar">
 	<?php get_calendar(); ?>
  </li>
- <li id="other"><?php $lang->str('other'); ?>
+ <li id="other"><?php _e("Other:"); ?>
 	<ul>
-		<li><a href="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-login.php"><?php $lang->str('login'); ?></a></li>
-		<li><a href="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-register.php"><?php $lang->str('register'); ?></a></li>
+		<li><a href="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-login.php"><?php _e("Login"); ?></a></li>
+		<li><a href="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-register.php"><?php _e("Register"); ?></a></li>
 	</ul>
  </li>
- <li id="meta"><?php $lang->str('meta'); ?>
+ <li id="meta"><?php _e("Meta:"); ?>
  	<ul>
-		<li><a href="<?php bloginfo('rss2_url'); ?>" title="<?php $lang->str('rss_2_title'); ?>"><?php $lang->str('rss_2'); ?></a></li>
-		<li><a href="<?php bloginfo('comments_rss2_url'); ?>" title="<?php $lang->str('comments_rss_2_title'); ?>"><?php $lang->str('comments_rss_2'); ?></a></li>
-		<li><a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer" title="<?php $lang->str('valid_xhtml_title'); ?>"><?php $lang->str('valid_xhtml'); ?></a></li>
-		<li><a href="http://wordpress.org" title="<?php $lang->str('powered_by_title'); ?>">WP</a></li>
+		<li><a href="<?php bloginfo('rss2_url'); ?>" title="<?php _e("Syndicate this site using RSS"); ?>"><?php _e("<abbr title=\"Really Simple Syndication\">RSS</abbr> 2.0"); ?></a></li>
+		<li><a href="<?php bloginfo('comments_rss2_url'); ?>" title="<?php _e("The latest comments to all posts in RSS"); ?>"><?php _e("Comments <abbr title=\"Really Simple Syndication\">RSS</abbr> 2.0"); ?></a></li>
+		<li><a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer" title="<?php _e("This page validates as XHTML 1.0 Transitional"
+); ?>"><?php _e("Valid <abbr title=\"eXtensible HyperText Markup Language\">XHTML</abbr>"); ?></a></li>
+		<li><a href="http://wordpress.org" title="<?php _e("Powered by WordPress; state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform."); ?>">WP</a></li>
 	</ul>
  </li>
 
@@ -113,6 +114,6 @@ require('wp-blog-header.php');
 
 </div>
 
-<p class="credit"><!--<?php echo $wpdb->querycount; ?> queries.--> <?php timer_stop(1); ?> || <?php $lang->str('powered_by_wordpress',$lang->str('powered_by_title','',1)); ?></p>
+<p class="credit"><!--<?php echo $wpdb->querycount; ?> queries.--> <?php timer_stop(1); ?> || <cite><?php echo sprintf(__("Powered by <a href=\"http://wordpress.org\" title=\"%s\"><strong>WordPress</strong></a></cite></p>"), __("Powered by WordPress, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform")); ?>
 </body>
-</html>
\ No newline at end of file
+</html>
diff --git a/wp-comments-popup.php b/wp-comments-popup.php
index d43b8995b..6b92dd06a 100644
--- a/wp-comments-popup.php
+++ b/wp-comments-popup.php
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ foreach ($posts as $post) { start_wp();
 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
 <head>
-	<title><?php echo get_settings('blogname'); ?> - <?php $lang->str('comments_on',the_title('','',false)); ?></title>
+     <title><?php echo get_settings('blogname'); ?> - <?php echo sprintf(__("Comments on %s"), the_title('','',false)); ?></title>
 
 	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=<?php echo get_settings('blog_charset'); ?>" />
 	<style type="text/css" media="screen">
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@ foreach ($posts as $post) { start_wp();
 
 <h1 id="header"><a href="" title="<?php echo get_settings('blogname'); ?>"><?php echo get_settings('blogname'); ?></a></h1>
 
-<h2 id="comments"><?php $lang->str('comments'); ?></h2>
+<h2 id="comments"><?php _e("Comments"); ?></h2>
 
-<p><a href="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-commentsrss2.php?p=<?php echo $post->ID; ?>"><?php $lang->str('comments_rss_post'); ?></a></p>
+<p><a href="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-commentsrss2.php?p=<?php echo $post->ID; ?>"><?php _e("<abbr title=\"Really Simple Syndication\">RSS</abbr> feed for comments on this post."); ?></a></p>
 
 <?php if ('open' == $post->ping_status) { ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('trackback_uri'); ?> <em><?php trackback_url() ?></em></p>
+<p><?php _e("The <acronym title=\"Uniform Resource Identifier\">URI</acronym> to TrackBack this entry is:"); ?> <em><?php trackback_url() ?></em></p>
 <?php } ?>
 
 <?php
@@ -45,54 +45,54 @@ if (!empty($commentstatus->post_password) && $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['wp-postpass_'.$c
 <?php foreach ($comments as $comment) { ?>
 	<li id="comment-<?php comment_ID() ?>">
 	<?php comment_text() ?>
-	<p><cite><?php comment_type(); ?> <?php $lang->str('by'); ?> <?php comment_author_link() ?> &#8212; <?php comment_date() ?> @ <a href="#comment-<?php comment_ID() ?>"><?php comment_time() ?></a></cite></p>
+	<p><cite><?php comment_type(); ?> <?php _e("by"); ?> <?php comment_author_link() ?> &#8212; <?php comment_date() ?> @ <a href="#comment-<?php comment_ID() ?>"><?php comment_time() ?></a></cite></p>
 	</li>
 
 <?php } // end for each comment ?>
 </ol>
 <?php } else { // this is displayed if there are no comments so far ?>
-	<p><?php $lang->str('no_comments'); ?></p>
+	<p><?php _e("No comments yet."); ?></p>
 <?php } ?>
 
 <?php if ('open' == $commentstatus->comment_status) { ?>
-<h2><?php $lang->str('leave_a_comment'); ?></h2>
-<p><?php $lang->str('comment_instructions'); ?> <code><?php echo allowed_tags(); ?></code></p>
+<h2><?php _e("Leave a comment"); ?></h2>
+<p><?php _e("Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, <acronym title=\"Hypertext Markup Language\">HTML</acronym> allowed:"); ?> <code><?php echo allowed_tags(); ?></code></p>
 
 <form action="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform">
 	<p>
 	  <input type="text" name="author" id="author" class="textarea" value="<?php echo $comment_author; ?>" size="28" tabindex="1" />
-	   <label for="author"><?php $lang->str('comment_name'); ?></label>
+	   <label for="author"><?php _e("Name"); ?></label>
 	<input type="hidden" name="comment_post_ID" value="<?php echo $id; ?>" />
 	<input type="hidden" name="redirect_to" value="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]); ?>" />
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
 	  <input type="text" name="email" id="email" value="<?php echo $comment_author_email; ?>" size="28" tabindex="2" />
-	   <label for="email"><?php $lang->str('comment_email'); ?></label>
+	   <label for="email"><?php _e("E-mail"); ?></label>
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
 	  <input type="text" name="url" id="url" value="<?php echo $comment_author_url; ?>" size="28" tabindex="3" />
-	   <label for="url"><?php $lang->str('comment_uri'); ?></label>
+	   <label for="url"><?php _e("<acronym title=\"Uniform Resource Identifier\">URI</acronym>"); ?></label>
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
-	  <label for="comment"><?php $lang->str('comment_body'); ?></label>
+	  <label for="comment"><?php _e("Your Comment"); ?></label>
 	<br />
 	  <textarea name="comment" id="comment" cols="70" rows="4" tabindex="4"></textarea>
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
-	  <input name="submit" type="submit" tabindex="5" value="<?php $lang->str('say_it'); ?>" />
+	  <input name="submit" type="submit" tabindex="5" value="<?php _e("Say It!"); ?>" />
 	</p>
 </form>
 <?php } else { // comments are closed ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('comments_closed'); ?></p>
+<p><?php _e("Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time."); ?></p>
 <?php }
 } // end password check
 ?>
 
-<div><strong><a href="javascript:window.close()"><?php $lang->str('close_window'); ?></a></strong></div>
+<div><strong><a href="javascript:window.close()"><?php _e("Close this window."); ?></a></strong></div>
 
 <?php // if you delete this the sky will fall on your head
 }
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ if (!empty($commentstatus->post_password) && $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['wp-postpass_'.$c
 
 <!-- // this is just the end of the motor - don't touch that line either :) -->
 <?php //} ?> 
-<p class="credit"><?php timer_stop(1); ?> <?php $lang->str('powered_by_wordpress',$lang->str('powered_by_title','',1)); ?></p>
+<p class="credit"><?php timer_stop(1); ?> <?php echo sprintf(__("<cite>Powered by <a href=\"http://wordpress.org\" title=\"%s\"><strong>Wordpress</strong></a></cite>"),__("Powered by WordPress; state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform.")); ?></p>
 <?php // Seen at http://www.mijnkopthee.nl/log2/archive/2003/05/28/esc(18) ?>
 <script type="text/javascript">
 <!--
diff --git a/wp-comments.php b/wp-comments.php
index 253f27467..717e16b03 100644
--- a/wp-comments.php
+++ b/wp-comments.php
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
         if (!empty($post->post_password)) { // if there's a password
             if ($HTTP_COOKIE_VARS['wp-postpass_'.$cookiehash] != $post->post_password) {  // and it doesn't match the cookie
 ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('comments_password'); ?><p>
+<p><?php e_("Enter your password to view comments."); ?><p>
 <?php
 				return;
             }
@@ -21,13 +21,13 @@
 
 <!-- You can start editing here. -->
 
-<h2 id="comments"><?php comments_number($lang->str('comments','',1)); ?> 
+<h2 id="comments"><?php comments_number(__("Comments")); ?> 
 <?php if ('open' == $post->comment_status) { ?>
-<a href="#postcomment" title="<?php $lang->str('leave_a_comment'); ?>">&raquo;</a>
+<a href="#postcomment" title="<?php _e("Leave a comment"); ?>">&raquo;</a>
 <?php } ?>
 </h2>
 <?php if ('open' == $post->ping_status) { ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('trackback_uri'); ?> <em><?php trackback_url() ?></em></p>
+<p><?php _e("The <acronym title=\"Uniform Resource Identifier\">URI</acronym> to TrackBack this entry is:"); ?> <em><?php trackback_url() ?></em></p>
 <?php } ?>
 
 
@@ -36,49 +36,49 @@
 <?php foreach ($comments as $comment) { ?>
 	<li id="comment-<?php comment_ID() ?>">
 	<?php comment_text() ?>
-	<p><cite><?php comment_type(); ?> <?php $lang->str('by'); ?> <?php comment_author_link() ?> &#8212; <?php comment_date() ?> @ <a href="#comment-<?php comment_ID() ?>"><?php comment_time() ?></a></cite> <?php edit_comment_link($lang->str('edit_this', '', 1), ' |'); ?></p>
+	<p><cite><?php comment_type(); ?> <?php _e("by"); ?> <?php comment_author_link() ?> &#8212; <?php comment_date() ?> @ <a href="#comment-<?php comment_ID() ?>"><?php comment_time() ?></a></cite> <?php edit_comment_link(__("Edit This"), ' |'); ?></p>
 	</li>
 
 <?php } // end for each comment ?>
 </ol>
 <?php } else { // this is displayed if there are no comments so far ?>
-	<p><?php $lang->str('no_comments'); ?></p>
+	<p><?php _e("No comments yet."); ?></p>
 <?php } ?>
-<p><?php comments_rss_link($lang->str('comments_rss_post', '', 1)); ?></p>
-<h2 id="postcomment"><?php $lang->str('leave_a_comment'); ?></h2>
+<p><?php comments_rss_link(__("<abbr title=\"Really Simple Syndication\">RSS</abbr> feed for comments on this post.")); ?></p>
+<h2 id="postcomment"><?php _e("Leave a comment"); ?></h2>
 <?php if ('open' == $post->comment_status) { ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('comments_instructions'); ?> <code><?php echo allowed_tags(); ?></code></p>
+<p><?php _e("Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, <acronym title=\"Hypertext Markup Language\">HTML</acronym> allowed:"); ?> <code><?php echo allowed_tags(); ?></code></p>
 
 <form action="<?php echo get_settings('siteurl'); ?>/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform">
 	<p>
 	  <input type="text" name="author" id="author" class="textarea" value="<?php echo $comment_author; ?>" size="28" tabindex="1" />
-	   <label for="author"><?php $lang->str('comment_name'); ?></label>
+	   <label for="author"><?php _e("Name"); ?></label>
 	<input type="hidden" name="comment_post_ID" value="<?php echo $id; ?>" />
 	<input type="hidden" name="redirect_to" value="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]); ?>" />
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
 	  <input type="text" name="email" id="email" value="<?php echo $comment_author_email; ?>" size="28" tabindex="2" />
-	   <label for="email"><?php $lang->str('comment_email'); ?></label>
+	   <label for="email"><?php _e("E-mail"); ?></label>
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
 	  <input type="text" name="url" id="url" value="<?php echo $comment_author_url; ?>" size="28" tabindex="3" />
-	   <label for="url"><?php $lang->str('comment_uri'); ?></label>
+	   <label for="url"><?php _e("<acronym title=\"Uniform Resource Identifier\">URI</acronym>"); ?></label>
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
-	  <label for="comment"><?php $lang->str('comment_body'); ?></label>
+	  <label for="comment"><?php _e("Your Comment"); ?></label>
 	<br />
 	  <textarea name="comment" id="comment" cols="70" rows="4" tabindex="4"></textarea>
 	</p>
 
 	<p>
-	  <input name="submit" type="submit" tabindex="5" value="<?php $lang->str('say_it'); ?>" />
+	  <input name="submit" type="submit" tabindex="5" value="<?php _e("Say It!"); ?>" />
 	</p>
 </form>
 <?php } else { // comments are closed ?>
-<p><?php $lang->str('comments_closed'); ?></p>
+<p><?php _e("Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time."); ?></p>
 <?php } ?>
 
 <?php // if you delete this the sky will fall on your head
diff --git a/wp-includes/gettext.php b/wp-includes/gettext.php
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..8c7ee5942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wp-includes/gettext.php
@@ -0,0 +1,232 @@
+<?php
+/*
+   Copyright (c) 2003 Danilo Segan <danilo@kvota.net>.
+
+   This file is part of PHP-gettext.
+
+   PHP-gettext is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   PHP-gettext is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with PHP-gettext; if not, write to the Free Software
+   Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+
+*/
+ 
+
+
+  // For start, we only want to read the MO files
+
+class gettext_reader {
+//public:
+  var $error = 0; // public variable that holds error code (0 if no error)
+//private:
+  var $BYTEORDER = 0;
+  var $STREAM = NULL;
+  var $short_circuit = false;
+
+  function readint() {
+    // Reads 4 byte value from $FD and puts it in int
+    // $BYTEORDER specifies the byte order: 0 low endian, 1 big endian
+    for ($i=0; $i<4; $i++) {
+      $byte[$i]=ord($this->STREAM->read(1));
+    }
+    //print sprintf("pos: %d\n",$this->STREAM->currentpos());
+    if ($this->BYTEORDER == 0) 
+      return (int)(($byte[0]) | ($byte[1]<<8) | ($byte[2]<<16) | ($byte[3]<<24));
+    else 
+      return (int)(($byte[3]) | ($byte[2]<<8) | ($byte[1]<<16) | ($byte[0]<<24));
+  }
+
+  // constructor that requires StreamReader object
+  function gettext_reader($Reader) {
+    // If there isn't a StreamReader, turn on short circuit mode.
+    if (! $Reader) {
+        $this->short_circuit = true;
+        return;
+    }
+
+    $MAGIC1 = (int)0x950412de;
+    $MAGIC2 = (int)0xde120495;
+
+
+    $this->STREAM = $Reader;
+    $magic = $this->readint();
+    if ($magic == $MAGIC1) {
+      $this->BYTEORDER = 0;
+    } elseif ($magic == $MAGIC2) {
+      $this->BYTEORDER = 1;
+    } else {
+      $this->error = 1; // not MO file
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    // FIXME: Do we care about revision? We should.
+    $revision = $this->readint();
+
+    $total = $this->readint();
+    $originals = $this->readint();
+    $translations = $this->readint();
+
+    $this->total = $total;
+    $this->originals = $originals;
+    $this->translations = $translations;
+
+  }
+
+  function load_tables($translations=false) {
+    // if tables are loaded do not load them again
+    if (!is_array($this->ORIGINALS)) {
+      $this->ORIGINALS = array();
+      $this->STREAM->seekto($this->originals);
+      for ($i=0; $i<$this->total; $i++) {
+	$len = $this->readint();
+	$ofs = $this->readint();
+	$this->ORIGINALS[] = array($len,$ofs);
+      }
+    }
+
+    // similar for translations
+    if ($translations and !is_array($this->TRANSLATIONS)) {
+      $this->TRANSLATIONS = array();
+      $this->STREAM->seekto($this->translations);
+      for ($i=0; $i<$this->total; $i++) {
+	$len = $this->readint();
+	$ofs = $this->readint();
+	$this->TRANSLATIONS[] = array($len,$ofs);
+      }
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  function get_string_number($num) {
+    // get a string with particular number
+    // TODO: Add simple hashing [check array, add if not already there]
+    $this->load_tables();
+    $meta = $this->ORIGINALS[$num];
+    $length = $meta[0];
+    $offset = $meta[1];
+    $this->STREAM->seekto($offset);
+    $data = $this->STREAM->read($length);
+    return (string)$data;
+  }
+
+  function get_translation_number($num) {
+    // get a string with particular number
+    // TODO: Add simple hashing [check array, add if not already there]
+    $this->load_tables(true);
+    $meta = $this->TRANSLATIONS[$num];
+    $length = $meta[0];
+    $offset = $meta[1];
+    $this->STREAM->seekto($offset);
+    $data = $this->STREAM->read($length);
+    return (string)$data;
+  }
+  
+  // binary search for string
+  function find_string($string, $start,$end) {
+    //print "start: $start, end: $end\n";
+    if (abs($start-$end)<=1) {
+      // we're done, if it's not it, bye bye
+      $txt = $this->get_string_number($start);
+      if ($string == $txt)
+	return $start;
+      else
+	return -1;
+    } elseif ($start>$end) {
+      return $this->find_string($string,$end,$start);
+    }  else {
+      $half = (int)(($start+$end)/2);
+      $tst = $this->get_string_number($half);
+      $cmp = strcmp($string,$tst);
+      if ($cmp == 0) 
+	return $half;
+      elseif ($cmp<0) 
+	return $this->find_string($string,$start,$half);
+      else
+	return $this->find_string($string,$half,$end);
+    }
+  }
+
+  function translate($string) {
+    if ($this->short_circuit) {
+        return $string;
+    }
+
+    $num = $this->find_string($string, 0, $this->total);
+    if ($num == -1)
+      return $string;
+    else 
+      return $this->get_translation_number($num);
+  }
+
+  function get_plural_forms() {
+    // lets assume message number 0 is header
+    // this is true, right?
+
+    // cache header field for plural forms
+    if (is_string($this->pluralheader)) 
+      return $this->pluralheader;
+    else {
+      $header = $this->get_translation_number(0);
+
+      if (eregi("plural-forms: (.*)\n",$header,$regs)) {
+	$expr = $regs[1];
+      } else {
+	$expr = "nplurals=2; plural=n == 1 ? 0 : 1;";
+      }
+      $this->pluralheader = $expr;
+      return $expr;
+    }
+  }
+
+  function select_string($n) {
+    $string = $this->get_plural_forms();
+    $string = str_replace('nplurals',"\$total",$string);
+    $string = str_replace("n",$n,$string);
+    $string = str_replace('plural',"\$plural",$string);
+
+    $total = 0;
+    $plural = 0;
+
+    eval("$string");
+    if ($plural>=$total) $plural = 0;
+    return $plural;
+  }
+
+  function ngettext($single, $plural, $number) {
+    if ($this->short_circuit) {
+      if ($number != 1) return $plural;
+      else return $single;
+    }
+
+    // find out the appropriate form
+    $select = $this->select_string($number); 
+    
+
+    // this should contains all strings separated by NULLs
+    $result = $this->find_string($single.chr(0).$plural,0,$this->total);
+    if ($result == -1) {
+      if ($number != 1) return $plural;
+      else return $single;
+    } else {
+      $result = $this->get_translation_number($result);
+    
+      // lets try to parse all the NUL staff
+      //$result = "proba0".chr(0)."proba1".chr(0)."proba2";
+      $list = explode (chr(0), $result);
+      return $list[$select];
+    }
+  }
+
+}
+
+
+?>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wp-includes/streams.php b/wp-includes/streams.php
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..3cdf71e89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wp-includes/streams.php
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+<?php
+/*
+   Copyright (c) 2003 Danilo Segan <danilo@kvota.net>.
+
+   This file is part of PHP-gettext.
+
+   PHP-gettext is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   PHP-gettext is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with PHP-gettext; if not, write to the Free Software
+   Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+
+*/
+
+
+// Simple class to wrap file streams, string streams, etc.
+// seek is essential, and it should be byte stream
+class StreamReader {
+  // should return a string [FIXME: perhaps return array of bytes?]
+  function read($bytes) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  
+  // should return new position
+  function seekto($position) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  
+  // returns current position
+  function currentpos() {
+    return false;
+  }
+  
+  // returns length of entire stream (limit for seekto()s)
+  function length() {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+class StringReader {
+  var $_pos;
+  var $_str;
+
+  function StringReader($str='') {
+    $this->_str = $str;
+    $this->_pos = 0;
+  }
+
+  function read($bytes) {
+    $data = substr($this->_str, $this->_pos, $bytes);
+    $this->_pos += $bytes;
+    if (strlen($this->_str)<$this->_pos)
+      $this->_pos = strlen($this->_str);
+
+    return $data;
+  }
+
+  function seekto($pos) {
+    $this->_pos = $pos;
+    if (strlen($this->_str)<$this->_pos)
+      $this->_pos = strlen($this->_str);
+    return $this->_pos;
+  }
+
+  function currentpos() {
+    return $this->_pos;
+  }
+
+  function length() {
+    return strlen($this->_str);
+  }
+
+}
+
+
+class FileReader {
+  var $_pos;
+  var $_fd;
+  var $_length;
+
+  function FileReader($filename) {
+    if (file_exists($filename)) {
+
+      $this->_length=filesize($filename);
+      $this->_pos = 0;
+      $this->_fd = fopen($filename,'rb');
+      if (!$this->_fd) {
+	$this->error = 3; // Cannot read file, probably permissions
+	return false;
+      }
+    } else {
+      $this->error = 2; // File doesn't exist
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  function read($bytes) {
+    fseek($this->_fd, $this->_pos);
+    $data = fread($this->_fd, $bytes);
+    $this->_pos = ftell($this->_fd);
+
+    return $data;
+  }
+
+  function seekto($pos) {
+    fseek($this->_fd, $pos);
+    $this->_pos = ftell($this->_fd);
+    return $this->_pos;
+  }
+
+  function currentpos() {
+    return $this->_pos;
+  }
+
+  function length() {
+    return $this->_length;
+  }
+
+  function close() {
+    fclose($this->_fd);
+  }
+
+}
+
+?>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wp-includes/wp-l10n.php b/wp-includes/wp-l10n.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..09f84425a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wp-includes/wp-l10n.php
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<?php
+$curpath = dirname(__FILE__).'/';
+
+// The locale is hard-coded here for now.
+$locale = 'en_GB';
+
+$mofile = $curpath . "/languages/$locale.mo";
+
+require($curpath . 'streams.php');
+require($curpath . 'gettext.php');
+
+// If the mo file does not exist or is not readable, or if the locale is
+// en_US, do not load the mo.
+if ( is_readable($mofile) && ($locale != 'en_US') ) {
+    $input = new FileReader($mofile);
+} else {
+    $input = false;
+}
+
+$l10n = new gettext_reader($input);
+
+// Return a translated string.    
+function __($text) {
+    global $l10n;
+    return $l10n->translate($text);
+}
+
+// Echo a translated string.
+function _e($text) {
+    global $l10n;
+    echo $l10n->translate($text);
+}
+
+// Return the plural form.
+function __ngettext($single, $plural, $number) {
+    global $l10n;
+    return $l10n->ngettext($single, $plural, $number);
+}
+?>
diff --git a/wp-settings.php b/wp-settings.php
index 4d477dcc5..283aca9c5 100644
--- a/wp-settings.php
+++ b/wp-settings.php
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/class-xmlrpc.php');
 require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/class-xmlrpcs.php');
 require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/links.php');
 require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/kses.php');
-require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/class-language.php');
+require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/wp-l10n.php');
 
 //setup the old globals from b2config.php
 //
@@ -76,9 +76,4 @@ if (!strstr($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], 'wp-admin/plugins.php') && get_settings('ac
 			include(ABSPATH . 'wp-content/plugins/' . $plugin);
 	}
 }
-
-// temporarily hardcoded, AK
-
-require_once (ABSPATH . WPINC . '/languages/english.php');
-
-?>
\ No newline at end of file
+?>