diff --git a/docs/en/changelogs/3.0.0.md b/docs/en/changelogs/3.0.0.md
index 3757dbc93..63c9b1fac 100644
--- a/docs/en/changelogs/3.0.0.md
+++ b/docs/en/changelogs/3.0.0.md
@@ -455,13 +455,36 @@ and was rarely used in practice - so we moved it to a "[homepagefordomain](https
 
 ### New syntax for translatable _t functions [i18n-t]###
 
-You can now call the _t() function in both templates and code with a namespace and string to translate, as well as a
-comment and injection array. Note that the proxity arguement to _t is no longer supported.
+You can now call the `_t()` function in both templates and code with a namespace and string to translate, as well as a comment and injection array. 
 
 The new syntax supports injecting variables into the translation. For example:
 
 	:::php
-    _t('i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS2', "Hello {name} {greeting}", array("name"=>"Paul", "greeting"=>"good you are here"));
+    _t(
+    	'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS2', 
+    	"Hello {name} {greeting}", 
+    	array("name"=>"Paul", "greeting"=>"good you are here")
+    );
+
+We've written the injection logic in a way that keeps backwards compatible with
+existing translations. This means that you can migrate from `sprintf()` to the new injection
+API incrementally. The following to "mixed usage" examples still work, although they
+don't get the advantage of flexible ordering in substitutions.
+
+	:::php
+	_t(
+		'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS2', 
+		"Hello {name} {greeting}", 
+		array("Paul", "good you are here")
+	);
+	_t(
+		'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS2', 
+		"Hello %s, %s", 
+		array("name"=>"Paul", "greeting"=>"good you are here")
+	);
+
+Of course, you can keep using `sprintf()` for variable substitution in your own code.
+
 
 ### Default translation source in YML instead of PHP $lang array, using Zend_Translate {#zend-translate}
 
diff --git a/docs/en/topics/i18n.md b/docs/en/topics/i18n.md
index ab16c430c..fd61ff134 100644
--- a/docs/en/topics/i18n.md
+++ b/docs/en/topics/i18n.md
@@ -180,9 +180,10 @@ Therefore, the following would be a valid use in templates:
 
 Using SS templating variables in the translatable string (e.g. $Author, $Date..) is not currently supported.
 
-### Injection-support
+### Injection Support
 
-Variable injection in _t allows us to dynamically replace parts of a translated string, e.g. by a username or a page-title.
+Variable injection in `_t()` allows us to dynamically replace parts of a translated string, e.g. by a username or a page-title. The named parameters also allow flexible ordering of placeholders,
+which might vary depending on the used language.
 
 	:::php
 	// in PHP-file
@@ -196,6 +197,10 @@ Variable injection in _t allows us to dynamically replace parts of a translated
 	// in SS-template ($Name must be available in the current template-scope)
 	<%t MYPROJECT.INJECTIONS "Hello {name} {greeting}" name="$Name" greeting="good to see you" %>
 
+Note that you can still use `sprintf()` wrapped around a `_t()` call
+for your substitutions. In contrast to `sprintf()`, our API has a more translator friendly
+placeholder syntax, as well as more graceful fallback if not all placeholders are found
+(an outdated translation with less placeholders will throw a notice rather than a fatal error).
 
 ## Collecting text
 
diff --git a/i18n/i18n.php b/i18n/i18n.php
index 4e8460a06..d66d1979b 100644
--- a/i18n/i18n.php
+++ b/i18n/i18n.php
@@ -1512,9 +1512,36 @@ class i18n extends Object implements TemplateGlobalProvider {
 		}
 
 		// inject the variables from injectionArray (if present)
-		if ($injectionArray && count($injectionArray) > 0) {
-			foreach($injectionArray as $variable => $injection) {
-				$returnValue = str_replace('{'.$variable.'}', $injection, $returnValue);
+		if($injectionArray) {
+			$regex = '/\{[\w\d]*\}/i';
+			if(!preg_match($regex, $returnValue)) {
+				// Legacy mode: If no injection placeholders are found, 
+				// replace sprintf placeholders in fixed order.
+				$returnValue = vsprintf($returnValue, array_values($injectionArray));
+			} else if(!ArrayLib::is_associative($injectionArray)) {
+				// Legacy mode: If injection placeholders are found,
+				// but parameters are passed without names, replace them in fixed order.
+				$returnValue = preg_replace_callback(
+					$regex, 
+					function($matches) use(&$injectionArray) {
+						return $injectionArray ? array_shift($injectionArray) : '';
+					},
+					$returnValue
+				);
+			} else {
+				// Standard placeholder replacement with named injections and variable order.
+				foreach($injectionArray as $variable => $injection) {
+					$placeholder = '{'.$variable.'}';
+					$returnValue = str_replace($placeholder, $injection, $returnValue, $count);
+					if(!$count) {
+						SS_Log::log(sprintf(
+							"Couldn't find placeholder '%s' in translation string '%s' (id: '%s')",
+							$placeholder,
+							$returnValue,
+							$entity
+						), SS_Log::NOTICE);
+					}
+				}
 			}
 		}
 
diff --git a/tests/i18n/i18nTest.php b/tests/i18n/i18nTest.php
index 7c5a40c84..ca0ac6392 100644
--- a/tests/i18n/i18nTest.php
+++ b/tests/i18n/i18nTest.php
@@ -251,7 +251,8 @@ class i18nTest extends SapphireTest {
 
 		i18n::get_translator('core')->getAdapter()->addTranslation(array(
 			'i18nTestModule.NEWMETHODSIG' => 'TRANS New _t method signature test',
-			'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS' => 'TRANS Hello {name} {greeting}. But it is late, {goodbye}'
+			'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS' => 'TRANS Hello {name} {greeting}. But it is late, {goodbye}',
+			'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONSLEGACY' => 'TRANS Hello %s %s. But it is late, %s',
 		), 'en_US');
 
 		$entity = "i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS";
@@ -287,6 +288,24 @@ class i18nTest extends SapphireTest {
 			$translated, "Testing a translation with just entity and injection array"
 		);
 
+		$translated = i18n::_t(
+			'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONSLEGACY', // has %s placeholders
+			array("name"=>"Cat", "greeting2"=>"meow", "goodbye"=>"meow")
+		);
+		$this->assertContains(
+			"TRANS Hello Cat meow. But it is late, meow",
+			$translated, "Testing sprintf placeholders with named injections"
+		);
+
+		$translated = i18n::_t(
+			'i18nTestModule.INJECTIONS', // has {name} placeholders
+			array("Cat", "meow", "meow")
+		);
+		$this->assertContains(
+			"TRANS Hello Cat meow. But it is late, meow",
+			$translated, "Testing named injection placeholders with unnamed injections"
+		);
+
 		i18n::set_locale($oldLocale);
 	}