diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1ccf79746a..4bdb83975c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@
 /git-sh-i18n
 /git-sh-i18n--envsubst
 /git-sh-setup
+/git-sh-i18n
 /git-shell
 /git-shortlog
 /git-show
diff --git a/Documentation/git-sh-i18n.txt b/Documentation/git-sh-i18n.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3b1f7ac7b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/git-sh-i18n.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+git-sh-i18n(1)
+==============
+
+NAME
+----
+git-sh-i18n - Git's i18n setup code for shell scripts
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+'. "$(git --exec-path)/git-sh-i18n"'
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+This is not a command the end user would want to run.  Ever.
+This documentation is meant for people who are studying the
+Porcelain-ish scripts and/or are writing new ones.
+
+The 'git sh-i18n scriptlet is designed to be sourced (using
+`.`) by Git's porcelain programs implemented in shell
+script. It provides wrappers for the GNU `gettext` and
+`eval_gettext` functions accessible through the `gettext.sh`
+script, and provides pass-through fallbacks on systems
+without GNU gettext.
+
+FUNCTIONS
+---------
+
+gettext::
+	Currently a dummy fall-through function implemented as a wrapper
+	around `printf(1)`. Will be replaced by a real gettext
+	implementation in a later version.
+
+eval_gettext::
+	Currently a dummy fall-through function implemented as a wrapper
+	around `printf(1)` with variables expanded by the
+	linkgit:git-sh-i18n--envsubst[1] helper. Will be replaced by a
+	real gettext implementation in a later version.
+
+GIT
+---
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 87c83cb458..83889f3782 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -381,6 +381,7 @@ SCRIPT_LIB += git-rebase--am
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-rebase--interactive
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-rebase--merge
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-sh-setup
+SCRIPT_LIB += git-sh-i18n
 
 SCRIPT_PERL += git-add--interactive.perl
 SCRIPT_PERL += git-difftool.perl
diff --git a/git-sh-i18n.sh b/git-sh-i18n.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ea05e16b19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/git-sh-i18n.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2010 Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason
+#
+# This is a skeleton no-op implementation of gettext for Git. It'll be
+# replaced by something that uses gettext.sh in a future patch series.
+
+gettext () {
+	printf "%s" "$1"
+}
+
+eval_gettext () {
+	printf "%s" "$1" | (
+		export PATH $(git sh-i18n--envsubst --variables "$1");
+		git sh-i18n--envsubst "$1"
+	)
+}