diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9bc015f..f4339a1 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 WORKING_DIR := recommender
 EXTRACT_DIR := $(WORKING_DIR)/conf/locale/en/LC_MESSAGES
-EXTRACTED_DJANGO := $(EXTRACT_DIR)/django-partial.po
-EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS := $(EXTRACT_DIR)/djangojs-partial.po
-EXTRACTED_TEXT := $(EXTRACT_DIR)/django.po
+JS_TARGET := $(WORKING_DIR)/public/js/translations
+EXTRACTED_DJANGO_PARTIAL := $(EXTRACT_DIR)/django-partial.po
+EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS_PARTIAL := $(EXTRACT_DIR)/djangojs-partial.po
+EXTRACTED_DJANGO := $(EXTRACT_DIR)/django.po
 
 COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT=requirements/common_constraints.txt
 .PHONY: $(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT)
@@ -23,8 +24,15 @@ upgrade: $(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT)  ## update the requirements/*.txt files with
 
 extract_translations: ## extract strings to be translated, outputting .po files
 	cd $(WORKING_DIR) && i18n_tool extract
-	mv $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO) $(EXTRACTED_TEXT)
-	tail -n +20 $(EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS) >> $(EXTRACTED_TEXT)
-	rm $(EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS)
-	sed -i'' -e 's/nplurals=INTEGER/nplurals=2/' $(EXTRACTED_TEXT)
-	sed -i'' -e 's/plural=EXPRESSION/plural=\(n != 1\)/' $(EXTRACTED_TEXT)
+	mv $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO_PARTIAL) $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO)
+	# Safely concatenate djangojs if it exists
+	if test -f $(EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS_PARTIAL); then \
+	  msgcat $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO) $(EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS_PARTIAL) -o $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO) && \
+	  rm $(EXTRACTED_DJANGOJS_PARTIAL); \
+	fi
+	sed -i'' -e 's/nplurals=INTEGER/nplurals=2/' $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO)
+	sed -i'' -e 's/plural=EXPRESSION/plural=\(n != 1\)/' $(EXTRACTED_DJANGO)
+
+compile_translations: ## compile translation files, outputting .mo files for each supported language
+	cd $(WORKING_DIR) && i18n_tool generate -v
+	python manage.py compilejsi18n --namespace RecommenderXBlockI18N --output $(JS_TARGET)
diff --git a/manage.py b/manage.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e665f81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/manage.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+import os
+import sys
+from django.core.management import execute_from_command_line
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    os.environ.setdefault(
+        "DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE",
+        "recommender.conf.locale.settings"
+    )
+
+    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)
diff --git a/recommender/conf/locale/config.yaml b/recommender/conf/locale/config.yaml
index a968d94..c0fb690 100644
--- a/recommender/conf/locale/config.yaml
+++ b/recommender/conf/locale/config.yaml
@@ -2,3 +2,6 @@
 
 locales:
     - en  # English - Source Language
+
+ignore_dirs:
+    - public
diff --git a/recommender/conf/locale/settings.py b/recommender/conf/locale/settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d218366
--- /dev/null
+++ b/recommender/conf/locale/settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+"""
+Django settings for xblock-drag-and-drop-v2 project.
+
+For more information on this file, see
+https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/topics/settings/
+
+For the full list of settings and their values, see
+https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/ref/settings/
+"""
+
+# Build paths inside the project like this: os.path.join(BASE_DIR, ...)
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+import os
+BASE_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+
+
+# Quick-start development settings - unsuitable for production
+# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/howto/deployment/checklist/
+
+# SECURITY WARNING: keep the secret key used in production secret!
+# This is just a container for running tests, it's okay to allow it to be
+# defaulted here if not present in environment settings
+SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('SECRET_KEY', '",cB3Jr.?xu[x_Ci]!%HP>#^AVmWi@r/W3u,w?pY+~J!R>;WN+,3}Sb{K=Jp~;&k')
+
+# SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
+# This is just a container for running tests
+DEBUG = True
+
+TEMPLATE_DEBUG = True
+
+ALLOWED_HOSTS = []
+
+
+# Application definition
+
+INSTALLED_APPS = (
+    'statici18n',
+    'recommender',
+)
+
+# Internationalization
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/topics/i18n/
+
+LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en'
+
+TIME_ZONE = 'UTC'
+
+USE_I18N = True
+
+USE_L10N = True
+
+USE_TZ = True
+
+
+# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/howto/static-files/
+
+STATIC_URL = '/static/'
+
+# statici18n
+# http://django-statici18n.readthedocs.io/en/latest/settings.html
+
+LANGUAGES = [
+    ('ar', 'Arabic'),
+    ('de', 'German'),
+    ('en', 'English - Source Language'),
+    ('eo', 'Esperanto'),
+    ('es_419', 'Spanish (Latin America)'),
+    ('fr', 'French'),
+    ('he', 'Hebrew'),
+    ('hi', 'Hindi'),
+    ('it', 'Italian'),
+    ('ja', 'Japanese'),
+    ('ko', 'Korean (Korea)'),
+    ('nl', 'Dutch'),
+    ('pl', 'Polski'),
+    ('pt_BR', 'Portuguese (Brazil)'),
+    ('pt_PT', 'Portuguese (Portugal)'),
+    ('ru', 'Russian'),
+    ('tr', 'Turkish'),
+    ('zh_CN', 'Chinese (China)'),
+]
+
+LOCALE_PATHS = [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "locale")]
+
+STATICI18N_DOMAIN = 'text'
+STATICI18N_NAMESPACE = 'RecommenderXBlockI18N'
+STATICI18N_PACKAGES = (
+    'recommender',
+)
+STATICI18N_ROOT = 'recommender/public/js'
+STATICI18N_OUTPUT_DIR = 'translations'
diff --git a/recommender/recommender.py b/recommender/recommender.py
index 9173beb..d1e2ad2 100644
--- a/recommender/recommender.py
+++ b/recommender/recommender.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import bleach
 from webob.response import Response
+from django.utils import translation
 
 from xblock.core import XBlock
 from xblock.exceptions import JsonHandlerError
@@ -944,6 +945,21 @@ def _construct_view_resource(self, resource):
 
         return result
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_statici18n_js_url():  # pragma: no cover
+        """
+        Returns the Javascript translation file for the currently selected language, if any found by `pkg_resources`
+        """
+        lang_code = translation.get_language()
+        if not lang_code:
+            return None
+        text_js = 'public/js/translations/{lang_code}/text.js'
+        country_code = lang_code.split('-')[0]
+        for code in (translation.to_locale(lang_code), lang_code, country_code):
+            if pkg_resources.resource_exists(resource_loader.module_name, text_js.format(lang_code=code)):
+                return text_js.format(lang_code=code)
+        return None
+
     def student_view(self, _context=None):  # pylint: disable=unused-argument
         """
         The primary view of the RecommenderXBlock, shown to students
@@ -990,6 +1006,9 @@ def student_view(self, _context=None):  # pylint: disable=unused-argument
         frag.add_css(self.resource_string("static/css/recommender.css"))
         frag.add_css(self.resource_string("static/css/introjs.css"))
         frag.add_javascript(self.resource_string("static/js/src/jquery.tooltipster.min.js"))
+        statici18n_js_url = self._get_statici18n_js_url()
+        if statici18n_js_url:
+            frag.add_javascript(self.resource_string(statici18n_js_url))
         frag.add_javascript(self.resource_string("static/js/src/cats.js"))
         frag.add_javascript(self.resource_string("static/js/src/recommender.js"))
         frag.initialize_js('RecommenderXBlock', self.get_client_configuration())
@@ -1007,6 +1026,9 @@ def studio_view(self, _context=None):  # pylint: disable=unused-argument
         ))
         frag.add_css(load("static/css/recommenderstudio.css"))
         frag.add_javascript_url("//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1.10.4/jquery-ui.min.js")
+        statici18n_js_url = self._get_statici18n_js_url()
+        if statici18n_js_url:
+            frag.add_javascript(self.resource_string(statici18n_js_url))
         frag.add_javascript(load("static/js/src/recommenderstudio.js"))
         frag.initialize_js('RecommenderXBlock')
         return frag
diff --git a/recommender/static/js/src/cats.js b/recommender/static/js/src/cats.js
index 8e58a0e..7d77f87 100644
--- a/recommender/static/js/src/cats.js
+++ b/recommender/static/js/src/cats.js
@@ -3,10 +3,26 @@
    //
    // Note: The global `window.*` variables should be converted into local ones to avoid over-using global variables. This is a 2014-era legacy XBlock coding standard that should be refactored -- @OmarIthawi at Apr 4, 2023 
    //
-    var gettext = window.gettext || (function (string) {
-        // Shim Django's `gettext` if unavailable.
-        return string;
-    });
+    var gettext;
+    if ('RecommenderXBlockI18N' in window) {
+        // Use Recommender's local translations
+        gettext = function(string) {
+            var translated = window.RecommenderXBlockI18N.gettext(string);
+            // if Recommender's translation is the same as the input, check if global has a different value
+            // This is useful for overriding the XBlock's string by themes (only for English)
+            if (string === translated && 'gettext' in window) {
+                translated = window.gettext(string);
+            }
+            return translated;
+        };
+    } else if ('gettext' in window) {
+        // Use edxapp's global translations
+        gettext = window.gettext;
+    }
+    if (typeof gettext == "undefined") {
+        // No translations -- used by test environment
+        gettext = function(string) { return string; };
+    }
 
     var span = function(text) {
         // Surround text with a span.