diff --git a/core/includes/bootstrap.inc b/core/includes/bootstrap.inc
index 42de880..c43a29f 100644
--- a/core/includes/bootstrap.inc
+++ b/core/includes/bootstrap.inc
@@ -1378,6 +1378,13 @@ function drupal_unpack($obj, $field = 'data') {
 function t($string, array $args = array(), array $options = array()) {
   static $custom_strings;
 
+  // If ContainerBuilder is not loaded, then the language subsystem has not been
+  // initialized yet. In that case, do not attempt to translate and only format
+  // the string. Also do not attempt to load ContainerBuilder.
+  if (!class_exists('Drupal\Core\DependencyInjection\ContainerBuilder', FALSE)) {
+    return !empty($args) ? format_string($string, $args) : $string;
+  }
+
   // Merge in default.
   if (empty($options['langcode'])) {
     $options['langcode'] = drupal_container()->get(LANGUAGE_TYPE_INTERFACE)->langcode;