diff --git a/actionpack/CHANGELOG b/actionpack/CHANGELOG
index 41e3be8b35181868adb4b78069f08ffddf01b96a..546adeb61db64baf4b9ac74f989693ad1068e85d 100644
--- a/actionpack/CHANGELOG
+++ b/actionpack/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 *Edge*
 
+* Added partial scoping to TranslationHelper#translate, so if you call translate(".foo") from the people/index.html.erb template, you'll actually be calling I18n.translate("people.index.foo") [DHH]
+
 * Fix a syntax error in current_page?() that was prevent matches against URL's with multiple query parameters #1385, #1868 [chris finne/Andrew White]
 
 * Added localized rescue template when I18n.locale is set (ex: public/404.da.html) #1835 [José Valim]
diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/translation_helper.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/translation_helper.rb
index dc41ef53051a46c943fe856330f114569a86be23..4aed10f6407329d9773e6c2257ea2fca691c04f0 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/translation_helper.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/translation_helper.rb
@@ -3,19 +3,37 @@
 module ActionView
   module Helpers
     module TranslationHelper
+      # Delegates to I18n#translate but also performs two additional functions. First, it'll catch MissingTranslationData exceptions 
+      # and turn them into inline spans that contains the missing key, such that you can see in a view what is missing where.
+      #
+      # Second, it'll scope the key by the current partial if the key starts with a period. So if you call translate(".foo") from the
+      # people/index.html.erb template, you'll actually be calling I18n.translate("people.index.foo"). This makes it less repetitive
+      # to translate many keys within the same partials and gives you a simple framework for scoping them consistently. If you don't
+      # prepend the key with a period, nothing is converted.
       def translate(key, options = {})
         options[:raise] = true
-        I18n.translate(key, options)
+        I18n.translate(scope_key_by_partial(key), options)
       rescue I18n::MissingTranslationData => e
         keys = I18n.send(:normalize_translation_keys, e.locale, e.key, e.options[:scope])
         content_tag('span', keys.join(', '), :class => 'translation_missing')
       end
       alias :t :translate
 
+      # Delegates to I18n.localize with no additional functionality.
       def localize(*args)
         I18n.localize *args
       end
       alias :l :localize
+
+
+      private
+        def scope_key_by_partial(key)
+          if key.to_s.first == "."
+            template.path_without_format_and_extension.gsub(%r{/_?}, ".") + key.to_s
+          else
+            key
+          end
+        end
     end
   end
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/actionpack/test/template/translation_helper_test.rb b/actionpack/test/template/translation_helper_test.rb
index 6534df6bbd8a3e745d958a4daa125b8a603a4c72..a20f3c394c64a51b7de5e07c537a0e2e4dbcad88 100644
--- a/actionpack/test/template/translation_helper_test.rb
+++ b/actionpack/test/template/translation_helper_test.rb
@@ -23,4 +23,10 @@ def test_delegates_localize_to_i18n
     I18n.expects(:localize).with(@time)
     localize @time
   end
+  
+  def test_scoping_by_partial
+    expects(:template).returns(stub(:path_without_format_and_extension => "people/index"))
+    I18n.expects(:translate).with("people.index.foo", :locale => 'en', :raise => true)
+    translate ".foo", :locale => 'en'
+  end
 end