diff --git a/init.lua b/init.lua
index 70a7d7f..3cc3af1 100644
--- a/init.lua
+++ b/init.lua
@@ -10,7 +10,21 @@ Tweaked by TenPlus1 and Security improvements by Krock
 
 ]]--
 
-local S = minetest.get_translator("sfinv_bags")
+
+-- translator check for backwards compatibility
+local S
+
+if minetest.get_translator then
+	S = minetest.get_translator("sfinv_bags")
+else
+	S = function(str, ...)
+		local args = {...}
+			return str:gsub("@%d+", function(match)
+				return args[tonumber(match:sub(2))]
+			end)
+	end
+end
+
 
 local function get_player_bag_stack(player, i)