diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b89f8b4a..02eaf72f 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -522,6 +522,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "windows-sys 0.48.0",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "displaydoc"
+version = "0.2.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "97369cbbc041bc366949bc74d34658d6cda5621039731c6310521892a3a20ae0"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 2.0.79",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "either"
 version = "1.13.0"
@@ -534,6 +545,70 @@ version = "0.3.6"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "a357d28ed41a50f9c765dbfe56cbc04a64e53e5fc58ba79fbc34c10ef3df831f"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding"
+version = "0.2.33"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6b0d943856b990d12d3b55b359144ff341533e516d94098b1d3fc1ac666d36ec"
+dependencies = [
+ "encoding-index-japanese",
+ "encoding-index-korean",
+ "encoding-index-simpchinese",
+ "encoding-index-singlebyte",
+ "encoding-index-tradchinese",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding-index-japanese"
+version = "1.20141219.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "04e8b2ff42e9a05335dbf8b5c6f7567e5591d0d916ccef4e0b1710d32a0d0c91"
+dependencies = [
+ "encoding_index_tests",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding-index-korean"
+version = "1.20141219.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "4dc33fb8e6bcba213fe2f14275f0963fd16f0a02c878e3095ecfdf5bee529d81"
+dependencies = [
+ "encoding_index_tests",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding-index-simpchinese"
+version = "1.20141219.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d87a7194909b9118fc707194baa434a4e3b0fb6a5a757c73c3adb07aa25031f7"
+dependencies = [
+ "encoding_index_tests",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding-index-singlebyte"
+version = "1.20141219.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3351d5acffb224af9ca265f435b859c7c01537c0849754d3db3fdf2bfe2ae84a"
+dependencies = [
+ "encoding_index_tests",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding-index-tradchinese"
+version = "1.20141219.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "fd0e20d5688ce3cab59eb3ef3a2083a5c77bf496cb798dc6fcdb75f323890c18"
+dependencies = [
+ "encoding_index_tests",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding_index_tests"
+version = "0.1.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a246d82be1c9d791c5dfde9a2bd045fc3cbba3fa2b11ad558f27d01712f00569"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "env_filter"
 version = "0.1.2"
@@ -625,6 +700,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "miniz_oxide",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "fluent-langneg"
+version = "0.14.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "e7b2da3cb6583f7e5f98d3e0e1f9ff70451398037445c8e89a0dc51594cf1736"
+dependencies = [
+ "icu_locid",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "fnv"
 version = "1.0.7"
@@ -670,6 +754,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "wasi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "gettext"
+version = "0.4.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9ebb594e753d5997e4be036e5a8cf048ab9414352870fb45c779557bbc9ba971"
+dependencies = [
+ "byteorder",
+ "encoding",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "gettext-rs"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -735,6 +829,18 @@ dependencies = [
  "cc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "icu_locid"
+version = "1.5.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "13acbb8371917fc971be86fc8057c41a64b521c184808a698c02acc242dbf637"
+dependencies = [
+ "displaydoc",
+ "litemap",
+ "tinystr",
+ "writeable",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "indexmap"
 version = "2.5.0"
@@ -933,6 +1039,12 @@ version = "0.4.14"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "78b3ae25bc7c8c38cec158d1f2757ee79e9b3740fbc7ccf0e59e4b08d793fa89"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "litemap"
+version = "0.7.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "643cb0b8d4fcc284004d5fd0d67ccf61dfffadb7f75e1e71bc420f4688a3a704"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "lock_api"
 version = "0.4.12"
@@ -1262,7 +1374,11 @@ version = "0.2.1"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "errno",
+ "fluent-langneg",
+ "gettext",
  "libc",
+ "sys-locale",
+ "tr",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1301,9 +1417,13 @@ version = "0.2.1"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "clap",
+ "fluent-langneg",
+ "gettext",
  "gettext-rs",
  "libc",
  "plib",
+ "sys-locale",
+ "tr",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1912,6 +2032,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "sys-locale"
+version = "0.3.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "e801cf239ecd6ccd71f03d270d67dd53d13e90aab208bf4b8fe4ad957ea949b0"
+dependencies = [
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "sysinfo"
 version = "0.31.4"
@@ -2059,12 +2188,31 @@ dependencies = [
  "time-core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tinystr"
+version = "0.7.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9117f5d4db391c1cf6927e7bea3db74b9a1c1add8f7eda9ffd5364f40f57b82f"
+dependencies = [
+ "displaydoc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "topological-sort"
 version = "0.2.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "ea68304e134ecd095ac6c3574494fc62b909f416c4fca77e440530221e549d3d"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tr"
+version = "0.1.10"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a592877f7cb2e5a6327b8c908fa6d51098482b1c87d478abdd783e61218f8151"
+dependencies = [
+ "gettext",
+ "lazy_static",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing"
 version = "0.1.40"
@@ -2516,6 +2664,12 @@ version = "0.52.6"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "589f6da84c646204747d1270a2a5661ea66ed1cced2631d546fdfb155959f9ec"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "writeable"
+version = "0.5.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "1e9df38ee2d2c3c5948ea468a8406ff0db0b29ae1ffde1bcf20ef305bcc95c51"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "zerocopy"
 version = "0.7.35"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 8697a0a2..cbb97092 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@ libc = "0.2"
 regex = "1.10"
 gettext-rs = { path = "./gettext-rs" }
 errno = "0.3"
+tr = { version = "0.1.10", default-features = false, features = ["gettext"]}
+gettext = "0.4.0"
+sys-locale = "0.3.1"
 
 [workspace.lints]
 
diff --git a/datetime/Cargo.toml b/datetime/Cargo.toml
index 6c85caf0..c74310ef 100644
--- a/datetime/Cargo.toml
+++ b/datetime/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ clap.workspace = true
 gettext-rs.workspace = true
 chrono.workspace = true
 libc.workspace = true
+tr.workspace = true
+gettext = "0.4.0"
+sys-locale = "0.3.1"
+fluent-langneg = "0.14.1"
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true
diff --git a/datetime/cal.rs b/datetime/cal.rs
index b075909a..ca792d03 100644
--- a/datetime/cal.rs
+++ b/datetime/cal.rs
@@ -13,15 +13,14 @@
 
 use chrono::Datelike;
 use clap::Parser;
-use gettextrs::{bind_textdomain_codeset, gettext, setlocale, textdomain, LocaleCategory};
-use plib::PROJECT_NAME;
+use tr::tr;
 
 #[derive(Parser)]
-#[command(version, about = gettext("cal - print a calendar"))]
+#[command(version, about = tr!("cal - print a calendar"))]
 struct Args {
     #[arg(
         value_parser = clap::value_parser!(u32).range(1..),
-        help = gettext(
+        help = tr!(
             "Specify the month to be displayed, represented as a decimal integer from 1 (January) to 12 (December)"
         )
     )]
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ struct Args {
 
     #[arg(
         value_parser = clap::value_parser!(u32).range(1..),
-        help = gettext(
+        help = tr!(
             "Specify the year for which the calendar is displayed, represented as a decimal integer from 1 to 9999"
         )
     )]
@@ -38,23 +37,23 @@ struct Args {
 
 fn print_month(month: u32, year: u32) {
     let month_name = match month {
-        1 => gettext("January"),
-        2 => gettext("February"),
-        3 => gettext("March"),
-        4 => gettext("April"),
-        5 => gettext("May"),
-        6 => gettext("June"),
-        7 => gettext("July"),
-        8 => gettext("August"),
-        9 => gettext("September"),
-        10 => gettext("October"),
-        11 => gettext("November"),
-        12 => gettext("December"),
+        1 => tr!("January"),
+        2 => tr!("February"),
+        3 => tr!("March"),
+        4 => tr!("April"),
+        5 => tr!("May"),
+        6 => tr!("June"),
+        7 => tr!("July"),
+        8 => tr!("August"),
+        9 => tr!("September"),
+        10 => tr!("October"),
+        11 => tr!("November"),
+        12 => tr!("December"),
         _ => unreachable!(),
     };
 
     println!("{} {}", month_name, year);
-    println!("{}", gettext("Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa"));
+    println!("{}", tr!("Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa"));
 
     let mut day = 1;
     let mut weekday = 1;
@@ -94,13 +93,11 @@ fn print_year(year: u32) {
 }
 
 fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+    plib::initialize_i18n!()?;
+
     // parse command line arguments
     let mut args = Args::parse();
 
-    setlocale(LocaleCategory::LcAll, "");
-    textdomain(PROJECT_NAME)?;
-    bind_textdomain_codeset(PROJECT_NAME, "UTF-8")?;
-
     // If no arguments are provided, display the current month
     if args.month.is_none() && args.year.is_none() {
         let now = chrono::Local::now();
@@ -116,7 +113,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
     let year = match args.year {
         Some(year) => {
             if year > 9999 {
-                return Err(gettext("year must be between 1 and 9999").into());
+                return Err(tr!("year must be between 1 and 9999").into());
             }
             year
         }
@@ -125,7 +122,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
 
     if let Some(month) = args.month {
         if month > 12 {
-            return Err(gettext("month must be between 1 and 12").into());
+            return Err(tr!("month must be between 1 and 12").into());
         }
         print_month(month, year);
     } else {
diff --git a/plib/Cargo.toml b/plib/Cargo.toml
index 62b8b1b5..41c1d9bf 100644
--- a/plib/Cargo.toml
+++ b/plib/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ rust-version.workspace = true
 cfg-if = "1.0"
 libc.workspace = true
 errno.workspace = true
+gettext = "0.4.0"
+sys-locale = "0.3.1"
+fluent-langneg = "0.14.1"
+tr.workspace = true
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true
diff --git a/plib/src/i18n.rs b/plib/src/i18n.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..27036e36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plib/src/i18n.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+use std::ffi::CString;
+
+/// Initialize localization catalog.
+pub fn initialize_catalog() -> Result<Option<gettext::Catalog>, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+    // TODO: load from available mo files
+    let available_locales = &["en-US", "en-AU"];
+
+    let mut requested_locales: Vec<String> = sys_locale::get_locales().into_iter().collect();
+
+    let lc_all = match std::env::var("LC_ALL") {
+        Ok(var) => Some(var),
+        Err(std::env::VarError::NotPresent) => None,
+        // TODO: a proper error message
+        Err(error) => return Err(error.into()),
+    };
+
+    let lc_messages = match std::env::var("LC_MESSAGES") {
+        Ok(var) => Some(var),
+        Err(std::env::VarError::NotPresent) => None,
+        // TODO: a proper error message
+        Err(error) => return Err(error.into()),
+    };
+
+    let mut insert_highest_priority = |var: &Option<String>| {
+        if let Some(var) = &var {
+            let mut move_locale = None;
+            for (i, locale) in requested_locales.iter().enumerate() {
+                if locale == var {
+                    if i != 0 {
+                        move_locale = Some(i);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            if let Some(i) = move_locale {
+                let locale = requested_locales.remove(i);
+                requested_locales.insert(0, locale);
+            } else {
+                requested_locales.insert(0, var.clone());
+            }
+        }
+    };
+
+    insert_highest_priority(&lc_messages);
+    insert_highest_priority(&lc_all);
+
+    let default_locale: fluent_langneg::LanguageIdentifier = "en-US".parse().unwrap();
+    let available_locales = fluent_langneg::convert_vec_str_to_langids_lossy(available_locales);
+    let locale = fluent_langneg::negotiate_languages(
+        &fluent_langneg::convert_vec_str_to_langids_lossy(requested_locales),
+        &available_locales,
+        Some(&default_locale),
+        // Using Lookup strategy because gettext only allows one fallback :'(
+        fluent_langneg::NegotiationStrategy::Lookup,
+    )
+    .into_iter()
+    .next()
+    .expect("expected at least one locale to be present (at least the default)");
+
+    println!("Using locale {locale}");
+    
+
+    if let Some(lc_all) = lc_all {
+        let lc_all_c = CString::new(lc_all)?.as_ptr();
+        unsafe {
+            libc::setlocale(libc::LC_ALL, lc_all_c);
+        }
+    } else {
+        let lc_messages_c = CString::new(locale.to_string())?.as_ptr();
+        unsafe {
+            libc::setlocale(libc::LC_MESSAGES, lc_messages_c);
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(if locale != &default_locale {
+        // TODO: do we need to load if en-US, as it's the fallback?
+        let f = std::fs::File::open(format!("messages.{locale}.mo"))?;
+        let catalog = gettext::Catalog::parse(f)?;
+        Some(catalog)
+    } else {
+        None
+    })
+}
+
+/// Macro to initialize 
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! initialize_i18n {
+    () => {
+        match plib::i18n::initialize_catalog() {
+            Ok(Some(catalog)) => {
+                tr::set_translator!(catalog);
+                Ok(())
+            },
+            Ok(None) => Ok(()),
+            Err(error) => Err(error),
+        }
+    };
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/plib/src/lib.rs b/plib/src/lib.rs
index 81f71675..b48d9304 100644
--- a/plib/src/lib.rs
+++ b/plib/src/lib.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 pub mod curuser;
 pub mod group;
+pub mod i18n;
 pub mod io;
 pub mod lzw;
 pub mod modestr;