Methods, systems, and computer program products for improving globalization of document content. A globalization model is defined which enables separating and externalizing translation-sensitive resources. A content translation expert can then operate efficiently to provide translated content, and a content designer can more easily focus on the task at hand using a resource-neutral document format. Using the disclosed techniques, translation-sensitive resources identified in a structured document can be programmatically translated by resolving references to a particular supplemental document in which the translated content for a target language has been specified.