A system, method, and program for providing language translators with contextual information for the text to be translated. The translator is presented with a graphical user interface in the base language, and can then interactively translate each text label on the screen. Because the translation is performed on the text in the proper context, the time and expense of Translation Verification Testing is reduced or eliminated. The contextual presentation of the text is accomplished by storing contextual information in localization files, along with the text to be translated. When the translation tool is run, it retrieves both the text to be translated and the contextual information from the localization files, and uses this information to create a GUI display which is similar to that of the original program. The translator can then translate the text in the proper context, and the translation is stored to disk.