diff --git a/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php b/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php
--- a/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php
+++ b/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php
@@ -88,7 +88,11 @@
       }
     }
 
-    $result = vsprintf($translation, $args);
+    if(empty($translation)) {
+      $result = vsprintf($text, $args);
+    } else {
+      $result = vsprintf($translation, $args);
+    }
 
     if ($this->language == 'en-ac') {
       $result = strtoupper($result);