diff --git a/docs/components/forms.md b/docs/components/forms.md
index 134bd88c19..17fa953fc6 100644
--- a/docs/components/forms.md
+++ b/docs/components/forms.md
@@ -817,3 +817,22 @@ Here's how it works:
 - We declare a `height` on the `<input>` for proper spacing for surrounding content.
 
 In other words, it's an entirely custom element, all generated via CSS.
+
+#### Translating or customizing the strings
+
+The [`:lang()` pseudo-class](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:lang) is used to allow for easy translation of the "Browse" and "Choose file..." text into other languages. Simply override or add entries to the `$custom-file-text` SCSS variable with the relevant [language tag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IETF_language_tag) and localized strings. The English strings can be customized the same way. For example, here's how one might add a Spanish translation (Spanish's language code is `es`):
+
+{% highlight scss %}
+$custom-file-text: (
+  placeholder: (
+    en: "Choose file...",
+    es: "Seleccionar archivo..."
+  ),
+  button-label: (
+    en: "Browse",
+    es: "Navegar"
+  )
+);
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+You'll need to set the language of your document (or subtree thereof) correctly in order for the correct text to be shown. This can be done using [the `lang` attribute](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Global_attributes/lang) or the [`Content-Language` HTTP header](https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec14.html#sec14.12), among other methods.
diff --git a/scss/_custom-forms.scss b/scss/_custom-forms.scss
index dbb32d42e0..1c929e2c3a 100644
--- a/scss/_custom-forms.scss
+++ b/scss/_custom-forms.scss
@@ -218,8 +218,10 @@
   @include border-radius($custom-file-border-radius);
   @include box-shadow($custom-file-box-shadow);
 
-  &::after {
-    content: $custom-file-placeholder;
+  @each $lang, $text in map-get($custom-file-text, placeholder) {
+    &:lang(#{$lang})::after {
+      content: $text;
+    }
   }
 
   &::before {
@@ -233,9 +235,14 @@
     padding: $custom-file-padding-x $custom-file-padding-y;
     line-height: $custom-file-line-height;
     color: $custom-file-button-color;
-    content: $custom-file-button-label;
     background-color: $custom-file-button-bg;
     border: $custom-file-border-width solid $custom-file-border-color;
     @include border-radius(0 $custom-file-border-radius $custom-file-border-radius 0);
   }
+
+  @each $lang, $text in map-get($custom-file-text, button-label) {
+    &:lang(#{$lang})::before {
+      content: $text;
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/scss/_variables.scss b/scss/_variables.scss
index 5142148148..1d7c67004b 100644
--- a/scss/_variables.scss
+++ b/scss/_variables.scss
@@ -404,10 +404,16 @@ $custom-file-border-width:  $border-width !default;
 $custom-file-border-color:  #ddd !default;
 $custom-file-border-radius: $border-radius !default;
 $custom-file-box-shadow:    inset 0 .2rem .4rem rgba(0,0,0,.05) !default;
-$custom-file-placeholder:   "Choose file..." !default;
-$custom-file-button-label:  "Browse" !default;
 $custom-file-button-color:  $custom-file-color !default;
 $custom-file-button-bg:     #eee !default;
+$custom-file-text: (
+  placeholder: (
+    en: "Choose file..."
+  ),
+  button-label: (
+    en: "Browse"
+  )
+) !default;
 
 
 // Form validation icons