diff --git a/druid/examples/assets/en-US/banana.ftl b/druid/examples/assets/en-US/banana.ftl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..985028d024
--- /dev/null
+++ b/druid/examples/assets/en-US/banana.ftl
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+banana-title = Banana count
+
+bananas = {$count ->
+    [0] No bananas
+    [1] One banana
+   *[other] {$count} bananas
+}
diff --git a/druid/examples/assets/fr-FR/banana.ftl b/druid/examples/assets/fr-FR/banana.ftl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ce0b516d33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/druid/examples/assets/fr-FR/banana.ftl
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+banana-title = Nombre de bananes
+
+bananas = {$count ->
+    [0] Aucune banane
+    [1] Une banane
+   *[other] {$count} bananes
+}
diff --git a/druid/examples/l10n.rs b/druid/examples/l10n.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a530de9d5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/druid/examples/l10n.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+// Copyright 2019 The Druid Authors.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+//! This is an example of how to translate and localize a druid application.
+//! It uses the fluent (.ftl) files in the asset directory for defining defining messages.
+
+// On Windows platform, don't show a console when opening the app.
+#![windows_subsystem = "windows"]
+
+use druid::widget::{prelude::*, Slider};
+use druid::widget::{Flex, Label};
+use druid::{AppLauncher, Data, Lens, LocalizedString, UnitPoint, WidgetExt, WindowDesc};
+
+const VERTICAL_WIDGET_SPACING: f64 = 20.0;
+const SLIDER_WIDTH: f64 = 200.0;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Data, Lens)]
+struct BananaState {
+    count: f64,
+}
+
+pub fn main() {
+    let main_window = WindowDesc::new(build_root_widget())
+        .title(LocalizedString::new("banana-title"))
+        .window_size((400.0, 400.0));
+
+    let initial_state: BananaState = BananaState { count: 1f64 };
+
+    // start the application, referencing the translation files in /assets.
+    AppLauncher::with_window(main_window)
+        .log_to_console()
+        .localization_resources(vec!["banana.ftl".into()], "assets".into())
+        .launch(initial_state)
+        .expect("Failed to launch application");
+}
+
+fn build_root_widget() -> impl Widget<BananaState> {
+    // create a label with a static translation
+    let title = Label::new(LocalizedString::new("banana-title")).with_text_size(28.0);
+
+    // create a label that uses a translation with dynamic arguments
+    let banana_label = Label::new(|data: &BananaState, env: &Env| {
+        let mut s = LocalizedString::<BananaState>::new("bananas")
+            .with_arg("count", |d, _e| d.count.into());
+        s.resolve(data, env);
+
+        s.localized_str()
+    })
+    .with_text_size(32.0);
+
+    // control the banana count
+    let slider = Slider::new()
+        .with_range(0.0, 3.0)
+        .with_step(1.0)
+        .fix_width(SLIDER_WIDTH)
+        .lens(BananaState::count);
+
+    Flex::column()
+        .with_child(title)
+        .with_spacer(VERTICAL_WIDGET_SPACING * 2.0)
+        .with_child(banana_label)
+        .with_spacer(VERTICAL_WIDGET_SPACING)
+        .with_child(slider)
+        .align_vertical(UnitPoint::CENTER)
+}
diff --git a/druid/examples/readme.md b/druid/examples/readme.md
index b986532de3..0fa2ba4f97 100644
--- a/druid/examples/readme.md
+++ b/druid/examples/readme.md
@@ -86,6 +86,13 @@ cargo run --example invalidation --features="im"
 ```
 A demonstration how to use debug invalidation regions in your own widgets, including some examples of builtin widgets.
 
+## L10n
+```
+cd druid/examples
+LANG=fr-FR cargo run --example l10n
+```
+Shows how to localize and translate text in druid. On Linux, set the LANG environment variable to either "fr-FR" or "en-US".
+
 ## Layout
 ```
 cargo run --example layout
diff --git a/druid/src/localization.rs b/druid/src/localization.rs
index 188b393161..dddfcbe1ea 100644
--- a/druid/src/localization.rs
+++ b/druid/src/localization.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 //! [`Env`]: struct.Env.html
 //! [`Data`]: trait.Data.html
 
+use std::borrow::Cow;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::{fs, io};
@@ -104,19 +105,19 @@ impl BundleStack {
         self.0.iter().flat_map(|b| b.get_message(id)).next()
     }
 
-    fn format_pattern(
-        &self,
+    fn format_pattern<'bundle>(
+        &'bundle self,
         id: &str,
-        pattern: &FluentPattern<&str>,
-        args: Option<&FluentArgs>,
+        pattern: &'bundle FluentPattern<&str>,
+        args: Option<&'bundle FluentArgs>,
         errors: &mut Vec<FluentError>,
-    ) -> String {
+    ) -> Cow<'bundle, str> {
         for bundle in self.0.iter() {
             if bundle.has_message(id) {
-                return bundle.format_pattern(pattern, args, errors).to_string();
+                return bundle.format_pattern(pattern, args, errors);
             }
         }
-        format!("localization failed for key '{}'", id)
+        Cow::Owned(format!("localization failed for key '{}'", id))
     }
 }
 
@@ -155,6 +156,12 @@ impl ResourceManager {
         let mut stack = Vec::new();
         for locale in &resolved_locales {
             let mut bundle = FluentBundle::new(resolved_locales.clone());
+
+            // fluent inserts bidi controls when interpolating, and they can
+            // cause rendering issues; for now we just don't use them.
+            // https://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-bidi-unicode-controls#basedirection
+            bundle.set_use_isolating(false);
+
             for res_id in resource_ids {
                 let res = self.get_resource(res_id, &locale.to_string());
                 bundle.add_resource(res).unwrap();
@@ -249,7 +256,7 @@ impl L10nManager {
         &'args self,
         key: &str,
         args: impl Into<Option<&'args FluentArgs<'args>>>,
-    ) -> Option<ArcStr> {
+    ) -> Option<Cow<str>> {
         let args = args.into();
         let value = match self
             .current_bundle
@@ -267,22 +274,7 @@ impl L10nManager {
             warn!("localization error {:?}", err);
         }
 
-        // fluent inserts bidi controls when interpolating, and they can
-        // cause rendering issues; for now we just strip them.
-        // https://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-bidi-unicode-controls#basedirection
-        const START_ISOLATE: char = '\u{2068}';
-        const END_ISOLATE: char = '\u{2069}';
-        if args.is_some() && result.chars().any(|c| c == START_ISOLATE) {
-            Some(
-                result
-                    .chars()
-                    .filter(|c| c != &START_ISOLATE && c != &END_ISOLATE)
-                    .collect::<String>()
-                    .into(),
-            )
-        } else {
-            Some(result.into())
-        }
+        Some(result)
     }
     //TODO: handle locale change
 }
@@ -361,9 +353,16 @@ impl<T> LocalizedString<T> {
 
             self.resolved_lang = Some(manager.current_locale.clone());
             let next = manager.localize(self.key, args.as_ref());
-            let result = next != self.resolved;
-            self.resolved = next;
-            result
+            {
+                let next = next.as_ref().map(|cow| cow.as_ref());
+                let prev = self.resolved.as_ref().map(|arc| arc.as_ref());
+                if next == prev {
+                    // still the same value, no need to update the field
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            self.resolved = next.map(|cow| cow.into());
+            true
         } else {
             false
         }