diff --git a/lib/core/DocsLayout.js b/lib/core/DocsLayout.js
index 7078eef068d36..8591aeed2124b 100644
--- a/lib/core/DocsLayout.js
+++ b/lib/core/DocsLayout.js
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ const OnPageNav = require('./nav/OnPageNav.js');
 const Site = require('./Site.js');
 const translation = require('../server/translation.js');
 const docs = require('../server/docs.js');
-const {idx, getGitLastUpdated} = require('./utils.js');
+const {getGitLastUpdated} = require('./utils.js');
 
 // component used to generate whole webpage for docs, including sidebar/header/footer
 class DocsLayout extends React.Component {
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ class DocsLayout extends React.Component {
   render() {
     const metadata = this.props.metadata;
     const content = this.props.children;
-    const i18n = translation[metadata.language];
     const id = metadata.localized_id;
     const defaultTitle = metadata.title;
     let DocComponent = Doc;
+
     if (this.props.Doc) {
       DocComponent = this.props.Doc;
     }
@@ -50,19 +50,18 @@ class DocsLayout extends React.Component {
       updateTime = getGitLastUpdated(filepath);
     }
 
-    const title =
-      idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', 'docs', id, 'title']) || defaultTitle;
+    const title = translation.t(['docs', id, 'title']) || defaultTitle;
     const hasOnPageNav = this.props.config.onPageNav === 'separate';
 
     const previousTitle =
-      idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', metadata.previous_id]) ||
-      idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', 'previous']) ||
+      translation.t(metadata.previous_id) ||
       metadata.previous_title ||
+      translation.t('previous') ||
       'Previous';
     const nextTitle =
-      idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', metadata.next_id]) ||
-      idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', 'next']) ||
+      translation.t(metadata.next_id) ||
       metadata.next_title ||
+      translation.t('next') ||
       'Next';
 
     return (
diff --git a/lib/core/Redirect.js b/lib/core/Redirect.js
index 2a8af6f73074e..3c20cd3014fc3 100644
--- a/lib/core/Redirect.js
+++ b/lib/core/Redirect.js
@@ -8,14 +8,11 @@
 const React = require('react');
 const Head = require('./Head.js');
 const translation = require('../server/translation.js');
-const {idx} = require('./utils.js');
 
 // Component used to provide same head, header, footer, other scripts to all pages
 class Redirect extends React.Component {
   render() {
-    const tagline =
-      idx(translation, [this.props.language, 'localized-strings', 'tagline']) ||
-      this.props.config.tagline;
+    const tagline = translation.t('tagline') || this.props.config.tagline;
     const title = this.props.title
       ? `${this.props.title} · ${this.props.config.title}`
       : (!this.props.config.disableTitleTagline &&
diff --git a/lib/core/Site.js b/lib/core/Site.js
index ad45ac4647a43..df4c4bb99fb91 100644
--- a/lib/core/Site.js
+++ b/lib/core/Site.js
@@ -8,22 +8,19 @@
 const React = require('react');
 const fs = require('fs');
 
+const CWD = process.cwd();
+
 const HeaderNav = require('./nav/HeaderNav.js');
 const Head = require('./Head.js');
 
-const Footer = require(`${process.cwd()}/core/Footer.js`);
+const Footer = require(`${CWD}/core/Footer.js`);
 const translation = require('../server/translation.js');
 const constants = require('./constants');
-const {idx} = require('./utils.js');
-
-const CWD = process.cwd();
 
 // Component used to provide same head, header, footer, other scripts to all pages
 class Site extends React.Component {
   render() {
-    const tagline =
-      idx(translation, [this.props.language, 'localized-strings', 'tagline']) ||
-      this.props.config.tagline;
+    const tagline = translation.t('tagline') || this.props.config.tagline;
     const title = this.props.title
       ? `${this.props.title} · ${this.props.config.title}`
       : (!this.props.config.disableTitleTagline &&
diff --git a/lib/core/nav/HeaderNav.js b/lib/core/nav/HeaderNav.js
index 893a67205fcd0..97c7821ac2816 100644
--- a/lib/core/nav/HeaderNav.js
+++ b/lib/core/nav/HeaderNav.js
@@ -12,29 +12,25 @@ const fs = require('fs');
 const classNames = require('classnames');
 
 const siteConfig = require(`${CWD}/siteConfig.js`);
+const {versioning} = require('../../server/env.js');
 const translation = require('../../server/translation.js');
-const env = require('../../server/env.js');
-
-const translate = require('../../server/translate.js').translate;
-const setLanguage = require('../../server/translate.js').setLanguage;
-
+const {translate} = require('../../server/translate.js');
 const readMetadata = require('../../server/readMetadata.js');
 
 readMetadata.generateMetadataDocs();
 const Metadata = require('../metadata.js');
-const {idx, getPath} = require('../utils.js');
+const {getPath} = require('../utils.js');
 
 const extension = siteConfig.cleanUrl ? '' : '.html';
 
 // language dropdown nav item for when translations are enabled
 class LanguageDropDown extends React.Component {
   render() {
-    setLanguage(this.props.language || 'en');
     const helpTranslateString = translate(
       'Help Translate|recruit community translators for your project'
     );
     // add all enabled languages to dropdown
-    const enabledLanguages = env.translation
+    const enabledLanguages = translation
       .enabledLanguages()
       .filter(lang => lang.tag !== this.props.language)
       .map(lang => {
@@ -66,7 +62,7 @@ class LanguageDropDown extends React.Component {
     }
 
     // Get the current language full name for display in the header nav
-    const currentLanguage = env.translation
+    const currentLanguage = translation
       .enabledLanguages()
       .filter(lang => lang.tag === this.props.language)
       .map(lang => lang.name);
@@ -143,10 +139,7 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
       );
     }
     if (link.languages) {
-      if (
-        env.translation.enabled &&
-        env.translation.enabledLanguages().length > 1
-      ) {
+      if (translation.enabled && translation.enabledLanguages().length > 1) {
         return (
           <LanguageDropDown
             baseUrl={this.props.baseUrl}
@@ -161,12 +154,12 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
     }
     if (link.doc) {
       // set link to document with current page's language/version
-      const langPart = env.translation.enabled
+      const langPart = translation.enabled
         ? `${this.props.language || 'en'}-`
         : '';
       const versionPart =
-        env.versioning.enabled && this.props.version !== 'next'
-          ? `version-${this.props.version || env.versioning.defaultVersion}-`
+        versioning.enabled && this.props.version !== 'next'
+          ? `version-${this.props.version || versioning.defaultVersion}-`
           : '';
       const id = langPart + versionPart + link.doc;
       if (!Metadata[id]) {
@@ -179,9 +172,9 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
         } else {
           errorStr += `${'. Check the spelling of your `doc` field. If that seems sane, and a document in your docs folder exists with that `id` value, \nthen this is likely a bug in Docusaurus.' +
             ' Docusaurus thinks one or both of translations (currently set to: '}${
-            env.translation.enabled
+            translation.enabled
           }) or versioning (currently set to: ${
-            env.versioning.enabled
+            versioning.enabled
           }) is enabled when maybe they should not be. \nThus my internal id for this doc is: '${id}'. Please file an issue for this possible bug on GitHub.`;
         }
         throw new Error(errorStr);
@@ -199,7 +192,7 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
       if (fs.existsSync(`${CWD}/pages/en/${link.page}.js`)) {
         href =
           siteConfig.baseUrl +
-          (env.translation.enabled ? `${language}/` : '') +
+          (translation.enabled ? `${language}/` : '') +
           link.page +
           extension;
       } else {
@@ -220,11 +213,11 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
         (link.blog && this.props.current.blogListing) ||
         (link.page && link.page === this.props.current.id),
     });
-    const i18n = translation[this.props.language];
+
     return (
       <li key={`${link.label}page`} className={itemClasses}>
         <a href={href} target={link.external ? '_blank' : '_self'}>
-          {idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', 'links', link.label]) || link.label}
+          {translation.t(['links', link.label]) || link.label}
         </a>
       </li>
     );
@@ -292,7 +285,7 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
       : 'headerTitle';
     const versionsLink =
       this.props.baseUrl +
-      (env.translation.enabled
+      (translation.enabled
         ? `${this.props.language}/versions${extension}`
         : `versions${extension}`);
     return (
@@ -302,7 +295,7 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
             <a
               href={
                 this.props.baseUrl +
-                (env.translation.enabled ? this.props.language : '')
+                (translation.enabled ? this.props.language : '')
               }>
               {siteConfig.headerIcon && (
                 <img
@@ -315,9 +308,9 @@ class HeaderNav extends React.Component {
                 <h2 className={headerClass}>{this.props.title}</h2>
               )}
             </a>
-            {env.versioning.enabled && (
+            {versioning.enabled && (
               <a href={versionsLink}>
-                <h3>{this.props.version || env.versioning.defaultVersion}</h3>
+                <h3>{this.props.version || versioning.defaultVersion}</h3>
               </a>
             )}
             {this.renderResponsiveNav()}
diff --git a/lib/core/nav/SideNav.js b/lib/core/nav/SideNav.js
index 8cc150a64ea5b..252d31e06efff 100644
--- a/lib/core/nav/SideNav.js
+++ b/lib/core/nav/SideNav.js
@@ -10,36 +10,28 @@ const classNames = require('classnames');
 
 const siteConfig = require(`${process.cwd()}/siteConfig.js`);
 const translation = require('../../server/translation.js');
-const {getPath, idx} = require('../utils.js');
+const {getPath} = require('../utils.js');
 
 class SideNav extends React.Component {
   // return appropriately translated category string
   getLocalizedCategoryString(category) {
-    const categoryString =
-      idx(translation, [
-        this.props.language,
-        'localized-strings',
-        'categories',
-        category,
-      ]) || category;
+    const categoryString = translation.t(['categories', category]) || category;
+
     return categoryString;
   }
 
   // return appropriately translated label to use for doc/blog in sidebar
   getLocalizedString(metadata) {
     let localizedString;
-    const i18n = translation[this.props.language];
     const id = metadata.localized_id;
     const sbTitle = metadata.sidebar_label;
 
     if (sbTitle) {
-      localizedString =
-        idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', 'docs', id, 'sidebar_label']) ||
-        sbTitle;
+      localizedString = translation.t(['docs', id, 'sidebar_label']) || sbTitle;
     } else {
-      localizedString =
-        idx(i18n, ['localized-strings', 'docs', id, 'title']) || metadata.title;
+      localizedString = translation.t(['docs', id, 'title']) || metadata.title;
     }
+
     return localizedString;
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/server/blog.js b/lib/server/blog.js
index 0c218efc8034a..475531de10d65 100644
--- a/lib/server/blog.js
+++ b/lib/server/blog.js
@@ -34,8 +34,12 @@ function fileToUrl(file) {
 
 function getPagesMarkup(numOfBlog, config) {
   const BlogPageLayout = require('../core/BlogPageLayout.js');
+  const env = require('./env');
   const blogPages = {};
   const perPage = 10;
+
+  env.translation.setLanguage('en');
+
   for (let page = 0; page < Math.ceil(numOfBlog / perPage); page++) {
     const metadata = {page, perPage};
     const blogPageComp = (
@@ -65,10 +69,16 @@ function getMetadata(file) {
 
 function getPostMarkup(file, config) {
   const metadata = getMetadata(file);
+
   if (!metadata) {
     return null;
   }
+
+  const env = require('./env');
   const BlogPostLayout = require('../core/BlogPostLayout.js');
+
+  env.translation.setLanguage('en');
+
   const blogPostComp = (
     <BlogPostLayout metadata={metadata} language="en" config={config}>
       {metadata.content}
diff --git a/lib/server/docs.js b/lib/server/docs.js
index 387985198a05b..7354890b7a6ed 100644
--- a/lib/server/docs.js
+++ b/lib/server/docs.js
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ function getMarkup(rawContent, mdToHtml, metadata) {
   // replace any relative links to static assets (not in fenced code blocks) to absolute links
   content = replaceAssetsLink(content);
 
+  env.translation.setLanguage(metadata.language);
+
   const DocsLayout = require('../core/DocsLayout.js');
   return renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
     <DocsLayout
diff --git a/lib/server/env/Translation.js b/lib/server/env/Translation.js
index d8b8ce1fe9f08..5b9bb8d35c05d 100644
--- a/lib/server/env/Translation.js
+++ b/lib/server/env/Translation.js
@@ -6,26 +6,102 @@
  */
 const CWD = process.cwd();
 const path = require('path');
+const glob = require('glob');
 const fs = require('fs-extra');
 const escapeStringRegexp = require('escape-string-regexp');
+const {idx} = require('../../core/utils.js');
 
 const languagesFile = path.join(CWD, 'languages.js');
+const DEFAULT_LANG = 'en';
 
 class Translation {
-  constructor() {
-    this.enabled = false;
-    this.languages = [
-      {
-        enabled: true,
-        name: 'English',
-        tag: 'en',
-      },
-    ];
+  enabled = false;
+
+  languages = [
+    {
+      enabled: true,
+      name: 'English',
+      tag: DEFAULT_LANG,
+    },
+  ];
+
+  language = DEFAULT_LANG;
+
+  setLanguage(language) {
+    this.language = language;
+  }
+
+  getLanguage() {
+    return this.language;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Translates string by its key
+   *
+   * @param {string|Array<string>} key
+   * @param {'default' | 'pages'} [category='default']
+   * @param {Object} options
+   * @param {string} options.language
+   *
+   * @return {string} - translation or key
+   */
+  t(key, category = 'default', options = {}) {
+    const language = options.language || this.getLanguage();
+
+    const categoryMap = {
+      default: 'localized-strings',
+      pages: 'pages-strings',
+    };
+
+    if (!categoryMap[category]) {
+      throw new Error(`Unknown category name: ${category}`);
+    }
+
+    const message = idx(
+      this.translations,
+      [language, categoryMap[category]].concat(key)
+    );
+
+    if (message) {
+      if (category === 'pages' && options.fallbackFrom) {
+        console.error(
+          `Could not find a string translation in '${
+            options.fallbackFrom
+          }' for string '${key}'. Using English version instead.`
+        );
+      }
+
+      return this.parseEscapeSequences(message);
+    }
+
+    if (options.fallbackFrom) {
+      if (category === 'pages') {
+        // for pages we have more strict rules
+        throw new Error(
+          `Text that you've identified for translation ('${key}') hasn't been added to the global list in 'en.json'. To solve this problem run 'yarn write-translations'.`
+        );
+      }
+    } else {
+      return this.t(key, category, {
+        language: DEFAULT_LANG,
+        fallbackFrom: language,
+      });
+    }
+
+    return null;
   }
 
   enabledLanguages = () => this.languages.filter(lang => lang.enabled);
 
-  getLanguage(file, refDir) {
+  /**
+   * Parse locale from doc file path
+   *
+   * @param  {string} file
+   * @param  {string} refDir
+   *
+   * @return {?string}
+   */
+  getFileLanguage(file, refDir) {
     const separator = escapeStringRegexp(path.sep);
     const baseDir = escapeStringRegexp(path.basename(refDir));
     const regexSubFolder = new RegExp(
@@ -38,6 +114,7 @@ class Translation {
       const enabledLanguages = this.enabledLanguages().map(
         language => language.tag
       );
+
       if (enabledLanguages.indexOf(match[1]) !== -1) {
         return match[1];
       }
@@ -51,6 +128,59 @@ class Translation {
       this.enabled = true;
       this.languages = require(languagesFile);
     }
+
+    this.loadTranslations();
+  }
+
+  loadTranslations() {
+    const translations = {languages: this.enabledLanguages()};
+
+    const files = glob.sync(`${CWD}/i18n/**`);
+    const langRegex = /\/i18n\/(.*)\.json$/;
+    let wasWarned = false;
+
+    files.forEach(file => {
+      const extension = path.extname(file);
+
+      if (extension === '.json') {
+        const match = langRegex.exec(file);
+        const language = match[1];
+
+        translations[language] = require(file);
+
+        Object.defineProperty(this, language, {
+          get() {
+            if (!wasWarned) {
+              wasWarned = true;
+
+              console.error(
+                "translation[language][category][key] api is deprecated. Please use translation.t(key, category = 'default')"
+              );
+            }
+
+            return translations[language];
+          },
+          set() {
+            // noop
+          },
+        });
+      }
+    });
+
+    this.translations = translations;
+  }
+
+  /* handle escaped characters that get converted into json strings */
+  parseEscapeSequences(str) {
+    return str
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\n', 'g'), '\n')
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\b', 'g'), '\b')
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\f', 'g'), '\f')
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\r', 'g'), '\r')
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\t', 'g'), '\t')
+      .replace(new RegExp("\\\\'", 'g'), "'")
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\"', 'g'), '"')
+      .replace(new RegExp('\\\\', 'g'), '\\');
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/server/env/__tests__/Translation.test.js b/lib/server/env/__tests__/Translation.test.js
index 0584244c8d2ff..49b49c724ae25 100644
--- a/lib/server/env/__tests__/Translation.test.js
+++ b/lib/server/env/__tests__/Translation.test.js
@@ -27,7 +27,11 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   ];
 });
 
-test('getLanguage', () => {
+afterEach(() => {
+  jest.restoreAllMocks();
+});
+
+test('#getFileLanguage()', () => {
   const testDocEnglish = path.join('translated_docs', 'en', 'test.md');
   const testDocJapanese = path.join('translated_docs', 'ja', 'test.md');
   const testDocJapaneseInSubfolder = path.join(
@@ -39,13 +43,114 @@ test('getLanguage', () => {
   const testDocInSubfolder = path.join('docs', 'ro', 'test.md');
   const testDocNoLanguage = path.join('docs', 'test.md');
 
-  expect(translation.getLanguage(testDocEnglish, 'translated_docs')).toBe('en');
-  expect(translation.getLanguage(testDocJapanese, 'translated_docs')).toBe(
+  expect(translation.getFileLanguage(testDocEnglish, 'translated_docs')).toBe(
+    'en'
+  );
+  expect(translation.getFileLanguage(testDocJapanese, 'translated_docs')).toBe(
     'ja'
   );
   expect(
-    translation.getLanguage(testDocJapaneseInSubfolder, 'translated_docs')
+    translation.getFileLanguage(testDocJapaneseInSubfolder, 'translated_docs')
   ).toBe('ja');
-  expect(translation.getLanguage(testDocInSubfolder, 'docs')).toBeNull();
-  expect(translation.getLanguage(testDocNoLanguage, 'docs')).toBeNull();
+  expect(translation.getFileLanguage(testDocInSubfolder, 'docs')).toBeNull();
+  expect(translation.getFileLanguage(testDocNoLanguage, 'docs')).toBeNull();
+});
+
+describe('#t()', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    translation.translations = {};
+  });
+
+  test('translate default category', () => {
+    translation.translations = {
+      en: {
+        'localized-strings': {
+          foo: 'foo-en',
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(translation.t('foo')).toBe('foo-en');
+  });
+
+  test('key specified by an array', () => {
+    translation.translations = {
+      en: {
+        'localized-strings': {
+          foo: {
+            bar: {
+              baz: 'baz-en',
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(translation.t(['foo', 'bar', 'baz'])).toBe('baz-en');
+  });
+
+  test('translate default category in other lang', () => {
+    translation.translations = {
+      fr: {
+        'localized-strings': {
+          foo: 'foo-fr',
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    translation.setLanguage('fr');
+
+    expect(translation.t('foo')).toBe('foo-fr');
+  });
+
+  test('fallback to en lang', () => {
+    jest.spyOn(console, 'error').mockImplementation(() => {});
+    translation.translations = {
+      en: {
+        'localized-strings': {
+          foo: 'foo-en',
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    translation.setLanguage('fr');
+
+    expect(translation.t('foo')).toBe('foo-en');
+    expect(console.error).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  test('returns null when no translation', () => {
+    expect(translation.t('foo')).toBe(null);
+  });
+
+  test('throws error when no translation for pages category', () => {
+    jest.spyOn(console, 'error').mockImplementation(() => {});
+    translation.setLanguage('fr');
+
+    expect(() =>
+      translation.t('foo', 'pages')
+    ).toThrowErrorMatchingInlineSnapshot(
+      `"Text that you've identified for translation ('foo') hasn't been added to the global list in 'en.json'. To solve this problem run 'yarn write-translations'."`
+    );
+    expect(console.error).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  test('warns when fallbacks to default lang for pages category', () => {
+    jest.spyOn(console, 'error').mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+    translation.translations = {
+      en: {
+        'pages-strings': {
+          foo: 'foo-en',
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    translation.setLanguage('fr');
+
+    expect(translation.t('foo', 'pages')).toBe('foo-en');
+    expect(console.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "Could not find a string translation in 'fr' for string 'foo'. Using English version instead."
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/lib/server/generate.js b/lib/server/generate.js
index fd0710db0c4f8..93ecb1e1ce9c3 100644
--- a/lib/server/generate.js
+++ b/lib/server/generate.js
@@ -20,9 +20,8 @@ async function execute() {
   const glob = require('glob');
   const chalk = require('chalk');
   const Site = require('../core/Site.js');
-  const env = require('./env.js');
   const siteConfig = require(`${CWD}/siteConfig.js`);
-  const translate = require('./translate.js');
+  const translation = require('./translation.js');
   const feed = require('./feed.js');
   const sitemap = require('./sitemap.js');
   const join = path.join;
@@ -281,9 +280,7 @@ async function execute() {
   fs.writeFileSync(mainCss, css);
 
   // compile/copy pages from user
-  const enabledLanguages = env.translation
-    .enabledLanguages()
-    .map(lang => lang.tag);
+  const enabledLanguages = translation.enabledLanguages().map(lang => lang.tag);
   files = glob.sync(join(CWD, 'pages', '**'));
   files.forEach(file => {
     // Why normalize? In case we are on Windows.
@@ -326,7 +323,8 @@ async function execute() {
               normalizedFile.replace(`${sep}en${sep}`, sep + language + sep)
             )
           ) {
-            translate.setLanguage(language);
+            translation.setLanguage(language);
+
             const str = renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
               <Site
                 language={language}
@@ -346,8 +344,9 @@ async function execute() {
         }
 
         // write to base level
-        const language = env.translation.enabled ? 'en' : '';
-        translate.setLanguage(language);
+        const language = translation.enabled ? 'en' : '';
+        translation.setLanguage(language);
+
         const str = renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
           <Site
             title={ReactComp.title}
@@ -364,8 +363,9 @@ async function execute() {
         );
       } else {
         // allow for rendering of other files not in pages/en folder
-        const language = env.translation.enabled ? 'en' : '';
-        translate.setLanguage(language);
+        const language = translation.enabled ? 'en' : '';
+        translation.setLanguage(language);
+
         const str = renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
           <Site
             title={ReactComp.title}
@@ -386,6 +386,8 @@ async function execute() {
       const pageID = path.basename(normalizedFile, '.html');
       const parts = normalizedFile.split('pages');
       const targetFile = join(buildDir, parts[1]);
+      translation.setLanguage('en');
+
       const str = renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
         <Site language="en" config={siteConfig} metadata={{id: pageID}}>
           <div
diff --git a/lib/server/metadata/DocsMetadata.js b/lib/server/metadata/DocsMetadata.js
index 5df2697048b65..da9e67ad8e05e 100644
--- a/lib/server/metadata/DocsMetadata.js
+++ b/lib/server/metadata/DocsMetadata.js
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class DocsMetadata {
     files = glob.sync(path.join(translatedDir, '**'));
 
     files.forEach(file => {
-      if (!translation.getLanguage(file, translatedDir)) {
+      if (!translation.getFileLanguage(file, translatedDir)) {
         return;
       }
 
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ class DocsMetadata {
     const sidebarIndex = this.sidebarIndex;
 
     const result = metadataUtils.extractMetadata(fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8'));
-    const language = translation.getLanguage(file, refDir) || 'en';
+    const language = translation.getFileLanguage(file, refDir) || 'en';
 
     const metadata = {};
     Object.keys(result.metadata).forEach(fieldName => {
diff --git a/lib/server/metadata/__tests__/DocsMetadata.test.js b/lib/server/metadata/__tests__/DocsMetadata.test.js
index b96437ea31102..84f6aa3d921c0 100644
--- a/lib/server/metadata/__tests__/DocsMetadata.test.js
+++ b/lib/server/metadata/__tests__/DocsMetadata.test.js
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ test('metadata for simple docs', () => {
     },
     translation: {
       enabled: false,
-      getLanguage() {
+      getFileLanguage() {
         return null;
       },
       enabledLanguages() {
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ test('wrong id format', () => {
     sidebars: {},
     translation: {
       enabled: false,
-      getLanguage() {
+      getFileLanguage() {
         return null;
       },
       enabledLanguages() {
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ it('metadata for siteConfig.useEnglishUrl', () => {
     },
     translation: {
       enabled: false,
-      getLanguage() {
+      getFileLanguage() {
         return null;
       },
       enabledLanguages() {
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ test('metadata with versioning', () => {
     },
     translation: {
       enabled: false,
-      getLanguage() {
+      getFileLanguage() {
         return null;
       },
       enabledLanguages() {
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ test('metadata with translations', () => {
     },
     translation: {
       enabled: true,
-      getLanguage(file) {
+      getFileLanguage(file) {
         return file.includes('/de/') ? 'de' : 'en';
       },
       enabledLanguages() {
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ test('metadata with translations and versioning', () => {
     },
     translation: {
       enabled: true,
-      getLanguage(file) {
+      getFileLanguage(file) {
         return file.includes('/de/') ? 'de' : 'en';
       },
       enabledLanguages() {
diff --git a/lib/server/readCategories.js b/lib/server/readCategories.js
index 21c22427c5bb9..7a6e4956cd2fd 100644
--- a/lib/server/readCategories.js
+++ b/lib/server/readCategories.js
@@ -5,28 +5,13 @@
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
  */
 
-const fs = require('fs');
-
+const env = require('./env');
 const Metadata = require('../core/metadata.js');
 
-const CWD = process.cwd();
-let languages;
-if (fs.existsSync(`${CWD}/languages.js`)) {
-  languages = require(`${CWD}/languages.js`);
-} else {
-  languages = [
-    {
-      enabled: true,
-      name: 'English',
-      tag: 'en',
-    },
-  ];
-}
-
 // returns data broken up into categories for a sidebar
 function readCategories(sidebar) {
-  const enabledLanguages = languages
-    .filter(lang => lang.enabled)
+  const enabledLanguages = env.translation
+    .enabledLanguages()
     .map(lang => lang.tag);
 
   const allCategories = {};
diff --git a/lib/server/server.js b/lib/server/server.js
index 87a59d9dc2c52..a6014aa601648 100644
--- a/lib/server/server.js
+++ b/lib/server/server.js
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ function execute(port, options) {
   const metadataUtils = require('./metadataUtils');
   const blog = require('./blog');
   const docs = require('./docs');
-  const env = require('./env.js');
   const express = require('express');
   const React = require('react');
   const request = require('request');
@@ -25,7 +24,7 @@ function execute(port, options) {
   const gaze = require('gaze');
   const tinylr = require('tiny-lr');
   const constants = require('../core/constants');
-  const translate = require('./translate');
+  const translation = require('./translation');
   const {renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype} = require('./renderUtils');
   const feed = require('./feed');
   const sitemap = require('./sitemap');
@@ -216,6 +215,9 @@ function execute(port, options) {
       if (siteConfig.wrapPagesHTML) {
         removeModuleAndChildrenFromCache(join('..', 'core', 'Site.js'));
         const Site = require(join('..', 'core', 'Site.js'));
+
+        translation.setLanguage('en');
+
         const str = renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
           <Site
             language="en"
@@ -242,11 +244,11 @@ function execute(port, options) {
     file = file.replace(siteConfig.baseUrl, '');
     let userFile = join(CWD, 'pages', file);
 
-    let language = env.translation.enabled ? 'en' : '';
+    let language = translation.enabled ? 'en' : '';
     const regexLang = /(.*)\/.*\.html$/;
     const match = regexLang.exec(req.path);
     const parts = match[1].split('/');
-    const enabledLangTags = env.translation
+    const enabledLangTags = translation
       .enabledLanguages()
       .map(lang => lang.tag);
 
@@ -287,7 +289,9 @@ function execute(port, options) {
       const ReactComp = require(tempFile);
       removeModuleAndChildrenFromCache(join('..', 'core', 'Site.js'));
       const Site = require(join('..', 'core', 'Site.js'));
-      translate.setLanguage(language);
+
+      translation.setLanguage(language);
+
       const str = renderToStaticMarkupWithDoctype(
         <Site
           language={language}
diff --git a/lib/server/sitemap.js b/lib/server/sitemap.js
index 1ae41a5fd5544..1c595c86d07c1 100644
--- a/lib/server/sitemap.js
+++ b/lib/server/sitemap.js
@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
  */
 
-const fs = require('fs-extra');
-
 const glob = require('glob');
 
 const CWD = process.cwd();
@@ -17,6 +15,7 @@ const utils = require('../core/utils');
 const siteConfig = require(`${CWD}/siteConfig.js`);
 
 const readMetadata = require('./readMetadata.js');
+const env = require('./env');
 
 readMetadata.generateMetadataDocs();
 const Metadata = require('../core/metadata.js');
@@ -30,19 +29,7 @@ module.exports = function(callback) {
   const files = glob.sync(`${CWD}/pages/en/**/*.js`);
 
   // English-only is the default.
-  let enabledLanguages = [
-    {
-      enabled: true,
-      name: 'English',
-      tag: 'en',
-    },
-  ];
-
-  // If we have a languages.js file, get all the enabled languages in there
-  if (fs.existsSync(`${CWD}/languages.js`)) {
-    const languages = require(`${CWD}/languages.js`);
-    enabledLanguages = languages.filter(lang => lang.enabled);
-  }
+  const enabledLanguages = env.translation.enabledLanguages();
 
   // Create a url mapping to all the enabled languages files
   const urls = files.map(file => {
diff --git a/lib/server/translate.js b/lib/server/translate.js
index 68d929e8dc233..7ccce7d79bd1b 100644
--- a/lib/server/translate.js
+++ b/lib/server/translate.js
@@ -5,61 +5,12 @@
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
  */
 
-const translation = require('./translation.js');
-
-let language = 'en';
-
-/* handle escaped characters that get converted into json strings */
-function parseEscapeSequences(str) {
-  return str
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\n', 'g'), '\n')
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\b', 'g'), '\b')
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\f', 'g'), '\f')
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\r', 'g'), '\r')
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\t', 'g'), '\t')
-    .replace(new RegExp("\\\\'", 'g'), "'")
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\"', 'g'), '"')
-    .replace(new RegExp('\\\\', 'g'), '\\');
-}
-
-function setLanguage(lang) {
-  language = lang;
-}
-
-function doesTranslationExist(str, lang) {
-  return (
-    translation[lang] &&
-    translation[lang]['pages-strings'] &&
-    translation[lang]['pages-strings'][str]
-  );
-}
+const {translation} = require('./env.js');
 
 function translate(str) {
-  if (!language || language === '') {
-    // Check English, just in case; otherwise, just return the raw string back
-    if (doesTranslationExist(str, 'en')) {
-      return parseEscapeSequences(translation.en['pages-strings'][str]);
-    }
-    return str;
-  }
-
-  if (!doesTranslationExist(str, language)) {
-    // if a translated string doesn't exist, but english does then fallback
-    if (doesTranslationExist(str, 'en')) {
-      console.error(
-        `Could not find a string translation in '${language}' for string '${str}'. Using English version instead.`
-      );
-
-      return parseEscapeSequences(translation.en['pages-strings'][str]);
-    }
-    throw new Error(
-      `Text that you've identified for translation ('${str}') hasn't been added to the global list in 'en.json'. To solve this problem run 'yarn write-translations'.`
-    );
-  }
-  return parseEscapeSequences(translation[language]['pages-strings'][str]);
+  return translation.t(str, 'pages');
 }
 
 module.exports = {
-  setLanguage,
   translate,
 };
diff --git a/lib/server/translation.js b/lib/server/translation.js
index 885df363ae5f2..ad05e9443d0c0 100644
--- a/lib/server/translation.js
+++ b/lib/server/translation.js
@@ -5,40 +5,6 @@
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
  */
 
-// translation object contains all translations for each string in i18n/en.json
+const env = require('./env');
 
-const CWD = process.cwd();
-const fs = require('fs');
-const glob = require('glob');
-const path = require('path');
-
-let languages;
-if (fs.existsSync(`${CWD}/languages.js`)) {
-  languages = require(`${CWD}/languages.js`);
-} else {
-  languages = [
-    {
-      enabled: true,
-      name: 'English',
-      tag: 'en',
-    },
-  ];
-}
-
-const enabledLanguages = languages.filter(lang => lang.enabled);
-
-const translation = {languages: enabledLanguages};
-
-const files = glob.sync(`${CWD}/i18n/**`);
-const langRegex = /\/i18n\/(.*)\.json$/;
-
-files.forEach(file => {
-  const extension = path.extname(file);
-  if (extension === '.json') {
-    const match = langRegex.exec(file);
-    const language = match[1];
-    translation[language] = require(file);
-  }
-});
-
-module.exports = translation;
+module.exports = env.translation;
diff --git a/lib/server/utils.js b/lib/server/utils.js
index 16a24432b7f9f..4306d3c372854 100644
--- a/lib/server/utils.js
+++ b/lib/server/utils.js
@@ -15,12 +15,6 @@ function getSubDir(file, refDir) {
   return subDir !== '.' && !subDir.includes('..') ? subDir : null;
 }
 
-function getLanguage(file, refDir) {
-  const env = require('./env.js');
-
-  return env.translation.getLanguage(file, refDir);
-}
-
 function isSeparateCss(file, separateDirs) {
   if (!separateDirs) {
     return false;
@@ -52,7 +46,6 @@ function autoPrefixCss(cssContent) {
 
 module.exports = {
   getSubDir,
-  getLanguage,
   isSeparateCss,
   minifyCss,
   autoPrefixCss,