diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/EntityDefinitionUpdateManager.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/EntityDefinitionUpdateManager.php
index 197e4a4..59b6ed6 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/EntityDefinitionUpdateManager.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/EntityDefinitionUpdateManager.php
@@ -107,13 +107,6 @@ public function getChangeSummary() {
    */
   public function applyUpdates() {
     foreach ($this->getChangeList() as $entity_type_id => $change_list) {
-      // Process entity type definition changes.
-      if (!empty($change_list['entity_type']) && $change_list['entity_type'] == static::DEFINITION_UPDATED) {
-        $entity_type = $this->entityManager->getDefinition($entity_type_id);
-        $original = $this->entityManager->getLastInstalledDefinition($entity_type_id);
-        $this->entityManager->onEntityTypeUpdate($entity_type, $original);
-      }
-
       // Process field storage definition changes.
       if (!empty($change_list['field_storage_definitions'])) {
         $storage_definitions = $this->entityManager->getFieldStorageDefinitions($entity_type_id);
@@ -135,6 +128,16 @@ public function applyUpdates() {
           }
         }
       }
+
+      // Process entity type definition changes after storage definitions ones,
+      // as in some conditions a change in the field storage definition can also
+      // be detected as an entity type definition change. This avoids the change
+      // to be applied twice (resulting in an unrecoverable error).
+      if (!empty($change_list['entity_type']) && $change_list['entity_type'] == static::DEFINITION_UPDATED) {
+        $entity_type = $this->entityManager->getDefinition($entity_type_id);
+        $original = $this->entityManager->getLastInstalledDefinition($entity_type_id);
+        $this->entityManager->onEntityTypeUpdate($entity_type, $original);
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Sql/SqlContentEntityStorageSchema.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Sql/SqlContentEntityStorageSchema.php
index dac6584..a07386c 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Sql/SqlContentEntityStorageSchema.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Sql/SqlContentEntityStorageSchema.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 use Drupal\Component\Utility\String;
 use Drupal\Core\Database\Connection;
+use Drupal\Core\Database\DatabaseExceptionWrapper;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityTypeInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityManagerInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityStorageException;
diff --git a/core/modules/block_content/src/Tests/BlockContentTranslationUITest.php b/core/modules/block_content/src/Tests/BlockContentTranslationUITest.php
index aec6f69..a97348d 100644
--- a/core/modules/block_content/src/Tests/BlockContentTranslationUITest.php
+++ b/core/modules/block_content/src/Tests/BlockContentTranslationUITest.php
@@ -143,9 +143,8 @@ public function testDisabledBundle() {
 
     // Make sure that only a single row was inserted into the
     // {content_translation} table.
-    $rows = db_query('SELECT * FROM {content_translation}')->fetchAll();
+    $rows = db_query('SELECT * FROM {block_content_field_data} WHERE id = :id', array(':id' => $enabled_block_content->id()))->fetchAll();
     $this->assertEqual(1, count($rows));
-    $this->assertEqual($enabled_block_content->id(), reset($rows)->entity_id);
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/src/CommentTranslationHandler.php b/core/modules/comment/src/CommentTranslationHandler.php
index aa796b1..a8ac17d 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/src/CommentTranslationHandler.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/src/CommentTranslationHandler.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
 use Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationHandler;
+use Drupal\Core\Form\FormStateInterface;
 
 /**
  * Defines the translation handler for comments.
@@ -18,8 +19,36 @@ class CommentTranslationHandler extends ContentTranslationHandler {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public function entityFormAlter(array &$form, FormStateInterface $form_state, EntityInterface $entity) {
+    parent::entityFormAlter($form, $form_state, $entity);
+
+    if (isset($form['content_translation'])) {
+      // We do not need to show these values on comment forms: they inherit the
+      // basic node property values.
+      $form['content_translation']['status']['#access'] = FALSE;
+      $form['content_translation']['name']['#access'] = FALSE;
+      $form['content_translation']['created']['#access'] = FALSE;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   protected function entityFormTitle(EntityInterface $entity) {
     return t('Edit comment @subject', array('@subject' => $entity->label()));
   }
 
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function entityFormEntityBuild($entity_type, EntityInterface $entity, array $form, FormStateInterface $form_state) {
+    if ($form_state->hasValue('content_translation')) {
+      $translation = &$form_state->getValue('content_translation');
+      /** @var \Drupal\comment\CommentInterface $entity */
+      $translation['status'] = $entity->isPublished();
+      $translation['name'] = $entity->getAuthorName();
+    }
+    parent::entityFormEntityBuild($entity_type, $entity, $form, $form_state);
+  }
+
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/src/Tests/CommentTranslationUITest.php b/core/modules/comment/src/Tests/CommentTranslationUITest.php
index 14ea0db..e914801 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/src/Tests/CommentTranslationUITest.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/src/Tests/CommentTranslationUITest.php
@@ -112,31 +112,58 @@ protected function getNewEntityValues($langcode) {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Overrides \Drupal\content_translation\Tests\ContentTranslationUITest::assertPublishedStatus().
+   * {@inheritdoc}
    */
-  protected function assertPublishedStatus() {
-    parent::assertPublishedStatus();
-    $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId);
-    $user = $this->drupalCreateUser(array('access comments'));
-    $this->drupalLogin($user);
-    $languages = $this->container->get('language_manager')->getLanguages();
+  protected function doTestPublishedStatus() {
+    $entity_manager = \Drupal::entityManager();
+    $storage = $entity_manager->getStorage($this->entityTypeId);
+
+    $storage->resetCache();
+    $entity = $storage->load($this->entityId);
+    $path = $entity->getSystemPath('edit-form');
 
-    // Check that simple users cannot see unpublished field translations.
-    $path = $entity->getSystemPath();
+    // Unpublish translations.
     foreach ($this->langcodes as $index => $langcode) {
-      $translation = $this->getTranslation($entity, $langcode);
-      $value = $this->getValue($translation, 'comment_body', $langcode);
-      $this->drupalGet($path, array('language' => $languages[$langcode]));
       if ($index > 0) {
-        $this->assertNoRaw($value, 'Unpublished field translation is not shown.');
-      }
-      else {
-        $this->assertRaw($value, 'Published field translation is shown.');
+        $edit = array('status' => 0);
+        $this->drupalPostForm($langcode . '/' . $path, $edit, $this->getFormSubmitAction($entity, $langcode));
+        $storage->resetCache();
+        $entity = $storage->load($this->entityId);
+        $this->assertFalse($this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode))->isPublished(), 'The translation has been correctly unpublished.');
       }
     }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  protected function doTestAuthoringInfo() {
+    $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId, TRUE);
+    $path = $entity->getSystemPath('edit-form');
+    $languages = $this->container->get('language_manager')->getLanguages();
+    $values = array();
+
+    // Post different authoring information for each translation.
+    foreach ($this->langcodes as $langcode) {
+      $user = $this->drupalCreateUser();
+      $values[$langcode] = array(
+        'uid' => $user->id(),
+        'created' => REQUEST_TIME - mt_rand(0, 1000),
+      );
+      $edit = array(
+        'name' => $user->getUsername(),
+        'date[date]' => format_date($values[$langcode]['created'], 'custom', 'Y-m-d'),
+        'date[time]' => format_date($values[$langcode]['created'], 'custom', 'H:i:s'),
+      );
+      $this->drupalPostForm($path, $edit, $this->getFormSubmitAction($entity, $langcode), array('language' => $languages[$langcode]));
+    }
 
-    // Login as translator again to ensure subsequent tests do not break.
-    $this->drupalLogin($this->translator);
+    $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId, TRUE);
+    foreach ($this->langcodes as $langcode) {
+      $metadata = $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode));
+      $this->assertEqual($metadata->getAuthor()->id(), $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly stored.');
+      $this->assertEqual($metadata->getCreatedTime(), $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly stored.');
+    }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.admin.inc b/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.admin.inc
index 231dbc6..b4e8c5f 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.admin.inc
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.admin.inc
@@ -97,7 +97,8 @@ function _content_translation_form_language_content_settings_form_alter(array &$
       if ($fields) {
         foreach ($fields as $field_name => $definition) {
           // Allow to configure only fields supporting multilingual storage.
-          if (!empty($storage_definitions[$field_name]) && $storage_definitions[$field_name]->isTranslatable()) {
+          // We skip our own fields as they are always translatable.
+          if (!empty($storage_definitions[$field_name]) && $storage_definitions[$field_name]->isTranslatable() && $storage_definitions[$field_name]->getProvider() != 'content_translation') {
             $form['settings'][$entity_type_id][$bundle]['fields'][$field_name] = array(
               '#label' => $definition->getLabel(),
               '#type' => 'checkbox',
@@ -336,6 +337,25 @@ function content_translation_form_language_content_settings_submit(array $form,
   }
 
   // Ensure entity and menu router information are correctly rebuilt.
-  \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
+  $entity_manager = \Drupal::entityManager();
+  $entity_manager->clearCachedDefinitions();
   \Drupal::service('router.builder_indicator')->setRebuildNeeded();
+
+  // Handle field storage definition creation, if needed.
+  // @todo Generalize this code in https://www.drupal.org/node/2346013.
+  // @todo Handle initial values in https://www.drupal.org/node/2346019.
+  if (\Drupal::service('entity.definition_update_manager')->needsUpdates()) {
+    foreach ($entity_types as $entity_type_id => $entity_type) {
+      $storage_definitions = $entity_manager->getFieldStorageDefinitions($entity_type_id);
+      $installed_storage_definitions = $entity_manager->getLastInstalledFieldStorageDefinitions($entity_type_id);
+      foreach (array_diff_key($storage_definitions, $installed_storage_definitions) as $storage_definition) {
+        /** @var $storage_definition \Drupal\Core\Field\FieldStorageDefinitionInterface */
+        if ($storage_definition->getProvider() == 'content_translation') {
+          $entity_manager->onFieldStorageDefinitionCreate($storage_definition);
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  drupal_set_message(t('Settings successfully updated.'));
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.install b/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.install
index 34d2717..cd8f8f0 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.install
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.install
@@ -5,82 +5,10 @@
  * Installation functions for Content Translation module.
  */
 
-use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageInterface;
 use Drupal\language\Plugin\LanguageNegotiation\LanguageNegotiationUrl;
 
 /**
- * Implements hook_schema().
- */
-function content_translation_schema() {
-  $schema['content_translation'] = array(
-    'description' => 'Table to track content translations',
-    'fields' => array(
-      'entity_type' => array(
-        'type' => 'varchar',
-        'length' => EntityTypeInterface::ID_MAX_LENGTH,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => '',
-        'description' => 'The entity type this translation relates to',
-      ),
-      'entity_id' => array(
-        'type' => 'varchar',
-        'length' => 128,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => '',
-        'description' => 'The entity id this translation relates to',
-      ),
-      'langcode' => array(
-        'type' => 'varchar',
-        'length' => 32,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => '',
-        'description' => 'The target language for this translation.',
-      ),
-      'source' => array(
-        'type' => 'varchar',
-        'length' => 32,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => '',
-        'description' => 'The source language from which this translation was created.',
-      ),
-      'outdated' => array(
-        'description' => 'A boolean indicating whether this translation needs to be updated.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-      'uid' => array(
-        'description' => 'The author of this translation.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-      'status' => array(
-        'description' => 'Boolean indicating whether the translation is visible to non-translators.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 1,
-      ),
-      'created' => array(
-        'description' => 'The Unix timestamp when the translation was created.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-      'changed' => array(
-        'description' => 'The Unix timestamp when the translation was most recently saved.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-    ),
-    'primary key' => array('entity_type', 'entity_id', 'langcode'),
-  );
-  return $schema;
-}
-
-/**
  * Implements hook_install().
  */
 function content_translation_install() {
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.module b/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.module
index ffa5d89..dbfff7b 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.module
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/content_translation.module
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityFormInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Form\FormStateInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Routing\RouteMatchInterface;
@@ -91,6 +92,16 @@ function content_translation_language_types_info_alter(array &$language_types) {
  * will be assumed. Every translation handler must implement
  * \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationHandlerInterface.
  *
+ * To implement its business logic the content translation UI relies on various
+ * metadata items describing the translation state. The default implementation
+ * is provided by \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadata, which
+ * defines one field for each metadata item. Entity types needing to customize
+ * this behavior can specify an alternative class through the
+ * 'content_translation_metadata' key in the 'handlers' entity type definition
+ * property. See \Drupal\node\NodeTranslationMetadata for an example. Every
+ * content translation metadata handler needs to implement
+ * \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadataInterface.
+ *
  * If the entity paths match the default pattern above and there is no need for
  * an entity-specific translation handler, Content Translation will
  * provide built-in support for the entity. However enabling translation for
@@ -106,6 +117,9 @@ function content_translation_entity_type_alter(array &$entity_types) {
       if (!$entity_type->hasHandlerClass('translation')) {
         $entity_type->setHandlerClass('translation', 'Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationHandler');
       }
+      if (!$entity_type->hasHandlerClass('content_translation_metadata')) {
+        $entity_type->setHandlerClass('content_translation_metadata', 'Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadata');
+      }
 
       $translation = $entity_type->get('translation');
       if (!$translation || !isset($translation['content_translation'])) {
@@ -141,6 +155,29 @@ function content_translation_entity_bundle_info_alter(&$bundles) {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Implements hook_entity_base_field_info().
+ */
+function content_translation_entity_base_field_info(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
+  /** @var \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface $manager */
+  $manager = \Drupal::service('content_translation.manager');
+  $entity_type_id = $entity_type->id();
+  if ($manager->isSupported($entity_type_id)) {
+    $definitions = $manager->getEntityTypeTranslationMetadata($entity_type)->getFieldDefinitions();
+    $installed_storage_definitions = \Drupal::entityManager()->getLastInstalledFieldStorageDefinitions($entity_type_id);
+    // By returning already installed field definitions even when no bundle is
+    // enabled for translation anymore, translation can be enabled again later
+    // without translation metadata being lost meanwhile.
+    // @todo Re-evaluate this approach and consider removing field storage
+    //   definitions and the related field data if the entity type has no bundle
+    //   enabled for translation, once base field purging is supported.
+    //   See https://www.drupal.org/node/2282119.
+    if (content_translation_enabled($entity_type_id) || array_intersect_key($definitions, $installed_storage_definitions)) {
+      return $definitions;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
  * Implements hook_field_info_alter().
  *
  * Content translation extends the @FieldType annotation with following key:
@@ -333,10 +370,7 @@ function content_translation_enabled($entity_type, $bundle = NULL) {
  * @todo Move to \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManager.
  */
 function content_translation_controller($entity_type_id) {
-  $entity_type = \Drupal::entityManager()->getDefinition($entity_type_id);
-  // @todo Throw an exception if the key is missing.
-  $class = $entity_type->getHandlerClass('translation');
-  return new $class($entity_type);
+  return \Drupal::entityManager()->getHandler($entity_type_id, 'translation');
 }
 
 /**
@@ -401,58 +435,17 @@ function content_translation_language_fallback_candidates_entity_view_alter(&$ca
   /** @var \Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityInterface $entity */
   $entity = $context['data'];
   $entity_type_id = $entity->getEntityTypeId();
-  $entity_type = $entity->getEntityType();
-  $permission = $entity_type->getPermissionGranularity() == 'bundle' ? $permission = "translate {$entity->bundle()} $entity_type_id" : "translate $entity_type_id";
-  $current_user = \Drupal::currentuser();
-  if (!$current_user->hasPermission('translate any entity') && !$current_user->hasPermission($permission)) {
-    foreach ($entity->getTranslationLanguages() as $langcode => $language) {
-      if (empty($entity->translation[$langcode]['status'])) {
-        unset($candidates[$langcode]);
-      }
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-/**
- * Implements hook_entity_storage_load().
- */
-function content_translation_entity_storage_load(array $entities, $entity_type) {
-  $enabled_entities = array();
-
-  if (content_translation_enabled($entity_type)) {
-    foreach ($entities as $entity) {
-      if ($entity instanceof ContentEntityInterface && $entity->isTranslatable()) {
-        $enabled_entities[$entity->id()] = $entity;
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (!empty($enabled_entities)) {
-    content_translation_load_translation_metadata($enabled_entities, $entity_type);
-  }
-}
-
-/**
- * Loads translation data into the given entities.
- *
- * @param array $entities
- *   The entities keyed by entity ID.
- * @param string $entity_type
- *   The type of the entities.
- */
-function content_translation_load_translation_metadata(array $entities, $entity_type) {
-  $query = 'SELECT * FROM {content_translation} te WHERE te.entity_type = :entity_type AND te.entity_id IN (:entity_id)';
-  $result = db_query($query, array(':entity_type' => $entity_type, ':entity_id' => array_keys($entities)));
-  $exclude = array('entity_type', 'entity_id', 'langcode');
-  foreach ($result as $record) {
-    $entity = $entities[$record->entity_id];
-    // @todo Declare these as entity (translation?) properties.
-    foreach ($record as $field_name => $value) {
-      if (!in_array($field_name, $exclude)) {
-        $langcode = $record->langcode;
-        $entity->translation[$langcode][$field_name] = $value;
-        if (!$entity->hasTranslation($langcode)) {
-          $entity->initTranslation($langcode);
+  if (content_translation_enabled($entity_type_id, $entity->bundle())) {
+    $entity_type = $entity->getEntityType();
+    $permission = $entity_type->getPermissionGranularity() == 'bundle' ? $permission = "translate {$entity->bundle()} $entity_type_id" : "translate $entity_type_id";
+    $current_user = \Drupal::currentuser();
+    if (!$current_user->hasPermission('translate any entity') && !$current_user->hasPermission($permission)) {
+      /** @var \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface $manager */
+      $manager = \Drupal::service('content_translation.manager');
+      foreach ($entity->getTranslationLanguages() as $langcode => $language) {
+        $metadata = $manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode));
+        if (!$metadata->isPublished()) {
+          unset($candidates[$langcode]);
         }
       }
     }
@@ -460,75 +453,6 @@ function content_translation_load_translation_metadata(array $entities, $entity_
 }
 
 /**
- * Implements hook_entity_insert().
- */
-function content_translation_entity_insert(EntityInterface $entity) {
-  // Only do something if translation support for the given entity is enabled.
-  if (!($entity instanceof ContentEntityInterface) || !$entity->isTranslatable()) {
-    return;
-  }
-
-  $fields = array('entity_type', 'entity_id', 'langcode', 'source', 'outdated', 'uid', 'status', 'created', 'changed');
-  $query = db_insert('content_translation')->fields($fields);
-
-  foreach ($entity->getTranslationLanguages() as $langcode => $language) {
-    $translation = isset($entity->translation[$langcode]) ? $entity->translation[$langcode] : array();
-
-    $translation += array(
-      'source' => '',
-      'uid' => \Drupal::currentUser()->id(),
-      'outdated' => FALSE,
-      'status' => TRUE,
-      'created' => REQUEST_TIME,
-      'changed' => REQUEST_TIME,
-    );
-
-    $translation['entity_type'] = $entity->getEntityTypeId();
-    $translation['entity_id'] = $entity->id();
-    $translation['langcode'] = $langcode;
-
-    // Reorder values to match the schema.
-    $values = array();
-    foreach ($fields as $field_name) {
-      $value = is_bool($translation[$field_name]) ? intval($translation[$field_name]) : $translation[$field_name];
-      $values[$field_name] = $value;
-    }
-    $query->values($values);
-  }
-
-  $query->execute();
-}
-
-/**
- * Implements hook_entity_delete().
- */
-function content_translation_entity_delete(EntityInterface $entity) {
-  // Only do something if translation support for the given entity is enabled.
-  if (!($entity instanceof ContentEntityInterface) || !$entity->isTranslatable()) {
-    return;
-  }
-
-  db_delete('content_translation')
-    ->condition('entity_type', $entity->getEntityTypeId())
-    ->condition('entity_id', $entity->id())
-    ->execute();
-}
-
-/**
- * Implements hook_entity_update().
- */
-function content_translation_entity_update(EntityInterface $entity) {
-  // Only do something if translation support for the given entity is enabled.
-  if (!($entity instanceof ContentEntityInterface) || !$entity->isTranslatable()) {
-    return;
-  }
-
-  // Delete and create to ensure no stale value remains behind.
-  content_translation_entity_delete($entity);
-  content_translation_entity_insert($entity);
-}
-
-/**
  * Implements hook_entity_extra_field_info().
  */
 function content_translation_entity_extra_field_info() {
@@ -589,11 +513,18 @@ function content_translation_form_field_ui_field_edit_form_alter(array &$form, F
  * Implements hook_entity_presave().
  */
 function content_translation_entity_presave(EntityInterface $entity) {
-  if ($entity instanceof ContentEntityInterface && $entity->isTranslatable()) {
-    // @todo Avoid using request attributes once translation metadata become
-    //   regular fields.
-    $attributes = \Drupal::request()->attributes;
-    \Drupal::service('content_translation.synchronizer')->synchronizeFields($entity, $entity->language()->getId(), $attributes->get('source_langcode'));
+  if ($entity instanceof ContentEntityInterface && $entity->isTranslatable() && !$entity->isNew()) {
+    // If we are creating a new translation we need to use the source language
+    // as original language, since source values are the only ones available to
+    // compare against.
+    if (!isset($entity->original)) {
+      $entity->original = entity_load_unchanged($entity->entityType(), $entity->id());
+    }
+    $langcode = $entity->language()->getId();
+    /** @var \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface $manager */
+    $manager = \Drupal::service('content_translation.manager');
+    $source_langcode = !$entity->original->hasTranslation($langcode) ? $manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity)->getSource() : NULL;
+    \Drupal::service('content_translation.synchronizer')->synchronizeFields($entity, $langcode, $source_langcode);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandler.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandler.php
index b1b6e9b..dd574bc 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandler.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandler.php
@@ -8,11 +8,14 @@
 namespace Drupal\content_translation;
 
 use Drupal\Core\Access\AccessResult;
+use Drupal\Core\DependencyInjection\DependencySerializationTrait;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Form\FormStateInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Render\Element;
+use Drupal\user\Entity\User;
+use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerInterface;
 
 /**
  * Base class for content translation handlers.
@@ -20,6 +23,7 @@
  * @ingroup entity_api
  */
 class ContentTranslationHandler implements ContentTranslationHandlerInterface {
+  use DependencySerializationTrait;
 
   /**
    * The type of the entity being translated.
@@ -36,14 +40,31 @@ class ContentTranslationHandler implements ContentTranslationHandlerInterface {
   protected $entityType;
 
   /**
+   * The content translation manager.
+   *
+   * @var \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface
+   */
+  protected $manager;
+
+  /**
    * Initializes an instance of the content translation controller.
    *
    * @param \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface $entity_type
    *   The info array of the given entity type.
+   * @param \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface $manager
+   *   The content translation manager service.
    */
-  public function __construct(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
+  public function __construct(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type, ContentTranslationManagerInterface $manager) {
     $this->entityTypeId = $entity_type->id();
     $this->entityType = $entity_type;
+    $this->manager = $manager;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public static function createInstance(ContainerInterface $container, EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
+    return new static($entity_type, $container->get('content_translation.manager'));
   }
 
   /**
@@ -51,9 +72,9 @@ public function __construct(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
    */
   public function retranslate(EntityInterface $entity, $langcode = NULL) {
     $updated_langcode = !empty($langcode) ? $langcode : $entity->language()->getId();
-    $translations = $entity->getTranslationLanguages();
-    foreach ($translations as $langcode => $language) {
-      $entity->translation[$langcode]['outdated'] = $langcode != $updated_langcode;
+    foreach ($entity->getTranslationLanguages() as $langcode => $language) {
+      $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode))
+        ->setOutdated($langcode != $updated_langcode);
     }
   }
 
@@ -197,20 +218,16 @@ public function entityFormAlter(array &$form, FormStateInterface $form_state, En
       );
 
       // A new translation is enabled by default.
-      $status = $new_translation || $entity->translation[$form_langcode]['status'];
+      $metadata = $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity);
+      $status = $new_translation || $metadata->isPublished();
       // If there is only one published translation we cannot unpublish it,
       // since there would be nothing left to display.
       $enabled = TRUE;
       if ($status) {
-        // A new translation is not available in the translation metadata, hence
-        // it should count as one more.
-        $published = $new_translation;
-        // When creating a brand new translation, $entity->translation is not
-        // set.
-        if (!$new_translation) {
-          foreach ($entity->translation as $translation) {
-            $published += $translation['status'];
-          }
+        $published = 0;
+        foreach ($entity->getTranslationLanguages() as $langcode => $language) {
+          $published += $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode))
+            ->isPublished();
         }
         $enabled = $published > 1;
       }
@@ -226,7 +243,7 @@ public function entityFormAlter(array &$form, FormStateInterface $form_state, En
         '#disabled' => !$enabled,
       );
 
-      $translate = !$new_translation && $entity->translation[$form_langcode]['outdated'];
+      $translate = !$new_translation && $metadata->isOutdated();
       if (!$translate) {
         $form['content_translation']['retranslate'] = array(
           '#type' => 'checkbox',
@@ -250,8 +267,8 @@ public function entityFormAlter(array &$form, FormStateInterface $form_state, En
       if ($new_translation) {
         $name = \Drupal::currentUser()->getUsername();
       }
-      elseif ($entity->translation[$form_langcode]['uid']) {
-        $name = user_load($entity->translation[$form_langcode]['uid'])->getUsername();
+      elseif ($metadata->getAuthor()->id()) {
+        $name = $metadata->getAuthor()->getUsername();
       }
       $form['content_translation']['name'] = array(
         '#type' => 'textfield',
@@ -262,7 +279,7 @@ public function entityFormAlter(array &$form, FormStateInterface $form_state, En
         '#description' => t('Leave blank for %anonymous.', array('%anonymous' => \Drupal::config('user.settings')->get('anonymous'))),
       );
 
-      $date = $new_translation ? REQUEST_TIME : $entity->translation[$form_langcode]['created'];
+      $date = $new_translation ? REQUEST_TIME : $metadata->getCreatedTime();
       $form['content_translation']['created'] = array(
         '#type' => 'textfield',
         '#title' => t('Authored on'),
@@ -384,35 +401,27 @@ protected function addTranslatabilityClue(&$element) {
   public function entityFormEntityBuild($entity_type, EntityInterface $entity, array $form, FormStateInterface $form_state) {
     $form_object = $form_state->getFormObject();
     $form_langcode = $form_object->getFormLangcode($form_state);
+    $values = &$form_state->getValue('content_translation', array());
 
-    if (!isset($entity->translation[$form_langcode])) {
-      $entity->translation[$form_langcode] = array();
+    if ($values['name'] == \Drupal::config('user.settings')->get('anonymous')) {
+      $values['name'] = '';
     }
-    $values = $form_state->getValue('content_translation', array());
-    $translation = &$entity->translation[$form_langcode];
 
-    // @todo Use the entity setter when all entities support multilingual
-    // properties.
-    $translation['uid'] = !empty($values['name']) && ($account = user_load_by_name($values['name'])) ? $account->id() : 0;
-    $translation['status'] = !empty($values['status']);
-    $translation['created'] = !empty($values['created']) ? strtotime($values['created']) : REQUEST_TIME;
-    $translation['changed'] = REQUEST_TIME;
+    $metadata = $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity);
+    $metadata->setAuthor(!empty($values['name']) && ($account = user_load_by_name($values['name'])) ? $account : User::load(0));
+    $metadata->setPublished(!empty($values['status']));
+    $metadata->setCreatedTime(!empty($values['created']) ? strtotime($values['created']) : REQUEST_TIME);
+    $metadata->setChangedTime(REQUEST_TIME);
 
     $source_langcode = $this->getSourceLangcode($form_state);
     if ($source_langcode) {
-      $translation['source'] = $source_langcode;
+      $metadata->setSource($source_langcode);
     }
 
-    $translation['outdated'] = !empty($values['outdated']);
+    $metadata->setOutdated(!empty($values['outdated']));
     if (!empty($values['retranslate'])) {
       $this->retranslate($entity, $form_langcode);
     }
-
-    // Set contextual information that can be reused during the storage phase.
-    // @todo Remove this once translation metadata are converted to regular
-    //   fields.
-    $attributes = \Drupal::request()->attributes;
-    $attributes->set('source_langcode', $source_langcode);
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandlerInterface.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandlerInterface.php
index 5ab8858..e42dbdf 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandlerInterface.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationHandlerInterface.php
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\content_translation;
 
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityHandlerInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Form\FormStateInterface;
 
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@
  * Defines a set of methods to allow any entity to be processed by the entity
  * translation UI.
  */
-interface ContentTranslationHandlerInterface {
+interface ContentTranslationHandlerInterface extends EntityHandlerInterface {
 
   /**
    * Checks if the user can perform the given operation on translations of the
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManager.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManager.php
index 817d3f8..66db0e4 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManager.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManager.php
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\content_translation;
 
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityManagerInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface;
 
 /**
  * Provides common functionality for content translation.
@@ -34,6 +36,23 @@ public function __construct(EntityManagerInterface $manager) {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public function getEntityTypeTranslationMetadata(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
+    return clone $this->entityManager->getHandler($entity_type->id(), 'content_translation_metadata');
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getTranslationMetadata(EntityInterface $translation) {
+    // We need a new instance of the metadata handler wrapping each translation.
+    $metadata = $this->getEntityTypeTranslationMetadata($translation->getEntityType());
+    $metadata->setTranslation($translation);
+    return $metadata;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public function isSupported($entity_type_id) {
     $entity_type = $this->entityManager->getDefinition($entity_type_id);
     return $entity_type->isTranslatable() && $entity_type->hasLinkTemplate('drupal:content-translation-overview');
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManagerInterface.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManagerInterface.php
index 8591138..a2951ed 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManagerInterface.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationManagerInterface.php
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\content_translation;
 
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface;
+
 /**
  * Provides an interface for common functionality for content translation.
  */
@@ -31,4 +34,26 @@ public function getSupportedEntityTypes();
    */
   public function isSupported($entity_type_id);
 
+  /**
+   * Content translation metadata factory.
+   *
+   * @param \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface $entity_type
+   *   The type of entity whose metadata needs to be retrieved.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadataInterface
+   *   An instance of the content translation metadata handler.
+   */
+  public function getEntityTypeTranslationMetadata(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type);
+
+  /**
+   * Content translation metadata factory.
+   *
+   * @param \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface $translation
+   *   The entity translation whose metadata needs to be retrieved.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadataInterface
+   *   An instance of the content translation metadata handler.
+   */
+  public function getTranslationMetadata(EntityInterface $translation);
+
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationMetadata.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationMetadata.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..99c9c0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationMetadata.php
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadata.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\content_translation;
+
+use Drupal\Component\Utility\String;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Field\BaseFieldDefinition;
+use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageInterface;
+use Drupal\user\EntityOwnerInterface;
+use Drupal\user\UserInterface;
+
+/**
+ * Base class for content translation metadata handlers.
+ */
+class ContentTranslationMetadata implements ContentTranslationMetadataInterface {
+
+  /**
+   * @var \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeInterface
+   */
+  protected $entityType;
+
+  /**
+   * @var \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface|\Drupal\Core\TypedData\TranslatableInterface|\Drupal\Core\TypedData\ComplexDataInterface
+   */
+  protected $translation;
+
+  /**
+   * Initializes an instance of the content translation metadata handler.
+   */
+  public function __construct(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
+    $this->entityType = $entity_type;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getFieldDefinitions() {
+    $definitions = array();
+
+    $definitions['translation_source'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('language')
+      ->setLabel(t('Translation source'))
+      ->setDescription(t('The source language from which this translation was created.'))
+      ->setDefaultValue(LanguageInterface::LANGCODE_NOT_SPECIFIED)
+      ->setRevisionable(TRUE)
+      ->setTranslatable(TRUE);
+
+    $definitions['translation_outdated'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('boolean')
+      ->setLabel(t('Translation outdated'))
+      ->setDescription(t('A boolean indicating whether this translation needs to be updated.'))
+      ->setDefaultValue(FALSE)
+      ->setRevisionable(TRUE)
+      ->setTranslatable(TRUE);
+
+    if (!$this->hasAuthor()) {
+      $definitions['translation_uid'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('entity_reference')
+        ->setLabel(t('Translation author'))
+        ->setDescription(t('The author of this translation.'))
+        ->setSetting('target_type', 'user')
+        ->setSetting('handler', 'default')
+        ->setRevisionable(TRUE)
+        ->setTranslatable(TRUE);
+    }
+
+    if (!$this->hasPublishedStatus()) {
+      $definitions['translation_status'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('boolean')
+        ->setLabel(t('Translation status'))
+        ->setDescription(t('A boolean indicating whether the translation is visible to non-translators.'))
+        ->setDefaultValue(TRUE)
+        ->setRevisionable(TRUE)
+        ->setTranslatable(TRUE);
+    }
+
+    if (!$this->hasCreatedTime()) {
+      $definitions['translation_created'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('created')
+        ->setLabel(t('Translation created time'))
+        ->setDescription(t('The Unix timestamp when the translation was created.'))
+        ->setRevisionable(TRUE)
+        ->setTranslatable(TRUE);
+    }
+
+    if (!$this->hasChangedTime()) {
+      $definitions['translation_changed'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('changed')
+        ->setLabel(t('Translation changed time'))
+        ->setDescription(t('The Unix timestamp when the translation was most recently saved.'))
+        ->setPropertyConstraints('value', array('EntityChanged' => array()))
+        ->setRevisionable(TRUE)
+        ->setTranslatable(TRUE);
+    }
+
+    return $definitions;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks whether the entity type supports author natively.
+   *
+   * @return bool
+   *   TRUE if metadata is natively supported, FALSE otherwise.
+   */
+  protected function hasAuthor() {
+    return is_subclass_of($this->entityType->getClass(), '\Drupal\user\EntityOwnerInterface');
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks whether the entity type supports published status natively.
+   *
+   * @return bool
+   *   TRUE if metadata is natively supported, FALSE otherwise.
+   */
+  protected function hasPublishedStatus() {
+    return array_key_exists('status', \Drupal::entityManager()->getLastInstalledFieldStorageDefinitions($this->entityType->id()));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks whether the entity type supports modification time natively.
+   *
+   * @return bool
+   *   TRUE if metadata is natively supported, FALSE otherwise.
+   */
+  protected function hasChangedTime() {
+    return is_subclass_of($this->entityType->getClass(), '\Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityChangedInterface');
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks whether the entity type supports creation time natively.
+   *
+   * @return bool
+   *   TRUE if metadata is natively supported, FALSE otherwise.
+   */
+  protected function hasCreatedTime() {
+    return array_key_exists('created', \Drupal::entityManager()->getLastInstalledFieldStorageDefinitions($this->entityType->id()));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setTranslation(EntityInterface $translation) {
+    if ($translation->getEntityTypeId() == $this->entityType->id()) {
+      $this->translation = $translation;
+      return $this;
+    }
+    else {
+      $args = array(
+        '@entity_type_id' => $translation->getEntityTypeId(),
+        '@expected_entity_type_id' => $this->entityType->id(),
+      );
+      throw new \LogicException(String::format('The translation object has the wrong entity type @entity_type_id (expected @expected_entity_type_id).', $args));
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getSource() {
+    return $this->translation->get('translation_source')->value;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setSource($source) {
+    $this->translation->set('translation_source', $source);
+    return $this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function isOutdated() {
+    return (bool) $this->translation->get('translation_outdated')->value;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setOutdated($outdated) {
+    $this->translation->set('translation_outdated', $outdated);
+    return $this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getAuthor() {
+    return $this->hasAuthor() ? $this->translation->getOwner() : $this->translation->get('translation_uid')->entity;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setAuthor(UserInterface $account) {
+    if ($this->hasAuthor()) {
+      $this->translation->setOwner($account);
+    }
+    else {
+      $this->translation->set('translation_uid', $account->id());
+    }
+    return $this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function isPublished() {
+    return (bool) $this->translation->get($this->hasPublishedStatus() ? 'status' : 'translation_status')->value;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setPublished($published) {
+    $this->translation->set($this->hasPublishedStatus() ? 'status' : 'translation_status', $published);
+    return $this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getCreatedTime() {
+    return $this->translation->get($this->hasCreatedTime() ? 'created' : 'translation_created')->value;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setCreatedTime($timestamp) {
+    $this->translation->set($this->hasCreatedTime() ? 'created' : 'translation_created', $timestamp);
+    return $this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getChangedTime() {
+    return $this->hasChangedTime() ? $this->translation->getChangedTime() : $this->translation->get('translation_changed')->value;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setChangedTime($timestamp) {
+    $this->translation->set($this->hasChangedTime() ? 'changed' : 'translation_changed', $timestamp);
+    return $this;
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationMetadataInterface.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationMetadataInterface.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7a0cc95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/ContentTranslationMetadataInterface.php
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadataInterface.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\content_translation;
+
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityChangedInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
+use Drupal\user\UserInterface;
+
+/**
+ * Common interface for content translation metadata handlers.
+ *
+ * The metadata handler can act as a wrapper for an entity translation object,
+ * encapsulating the logic needed to retrieve translation metadata. The handler
+ * does not require a translation object to be instantiated as it can be used
+ * just to retrieve the field definitions used to store translation metadata.
+ */
+interface ContentTranslationMetadataInterface extends EntityChangedInterface {
+
+  /**
+   * Returns a set of field definitions to be used to store metadata items.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\Core\Field\FieldDefinitionInterface[]
+   */
+  public function getFieldDefinitions();
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the wrapped translation object.
+   *
+   * @param \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface $translation
+   *   The translation object to be wrapped.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setTranslation(EntityInterface $translation);
+
+  /**
+   * Retrieves the source language for this translation.
+   *
+   * @return string
+   *   The source language code.
+   */
+  public function getSource();
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the source language for this translation.
+   *
+   * @param string $source
+   *   The source language code.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setSource($source);
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the translation outdated status.
+   *
+   * @return bool
+   *   TRUE if the translation is outdated, FALSE otherwise.
+   */
+  public function isOutdated();
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the translation outdated status.
+   *
+   * @param bool $outdated
+   *   TRUE if the translation is outdated, FALSE otherwise.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setOutdated($outdated);
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the translation author.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\user\UserInterface
+   *   The user entity for the translation author.
+   */
+  public function getAuthor();
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the translation author.
+   *
+   * @param \Drupal\user\UserInterface $account
+   *   The translation author user entity.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setAuthor(UserInterface $account);
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the translation published status.
+   *
+   * @return bool
+   *   TRUE if the translation is published, FALSE otherwise.
+   */
+  public function isPublished();
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the translation published status.
+   *
+   * @param bool $published
+   *   TRUE if the translation is published, FALSE otherwise.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setPublished($published);
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the translation creation timestamp.
+   *
+   * @return int
+   *   The UNIX timestamp of when the translation was created.
+   */
+  public function getCreatedTime();
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the translation creation timestamp.
+   *
+   * @param int $timestamp
+   *   The UNIX timestamp of when the translation was created.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setCreatedTime($timestamp);
+
+  /**
+   * Sets the translation modification timestamp.
+   *
+   * @param int $timestamp
+   *   The UNIX timestamp of when the translation was last modified.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   */
+  public function setChangedTime($timestamp);
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Controller/ContentTranslationController.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Controller/ContentTranslationController.php
index e3622dc..b3f81dd 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Controller/ContentTranslationController.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Controller/ContentTranslationController.php
@@ -7,10 +7,12 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\content_translation\Controller;
 
+use Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Controller\ControllerBase;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Url;
+use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;
 
 /**
@@ -19,6 +21,30 @@
 class ContentTranslationController extends ControllerBase {
 
   /**
+   * The content translation manager.
+   *
+   * @var \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface
+   */
+  protected $manager;
+
+  /**
+   * Initializes a content translation controller.
+   *
+   * @param \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface
+   *   A content translation manager instance.
+   */
+  public function __construct(ContentTranslationManagerInterface $manager) {
+    $this->manager = $manager;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public static function create(ContainerInterface $container) {
+    return new static($container->get('content_translation.manager'));
+  }
+
+  /**
    * Populates target values with the source values.
    *
    * @param \Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityInterface $entity
@@ -46,9 +72,11 @@ public function prepareTranslation(ContentEntityInterface $entity, LanguageInter
    *   Array of page elements to render.
    */
   public function overview(Request $request, $entity_type_id = NULL) {
+    /** @var \Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityInterface $entity */
     $entity = $request->attributes->get($entity_type_id);
     $account = $this->currentUser();
     $handler = $this->entityManager()->getHandler($entity_type_id, 'translation');
+    $manager = $this->manager;
 
     $languages = $this->languageManager()->getLanguages();
     $original = $entity->getUntranslated()->language()->getId();
@@ -69,8 +97,9 @@ public function overview(Request $request, $entity_type_id = NULL) {
       }
 
       // Show source-language column if there are non-original source langcodes.
-      $additional_source_langcodes = array_filter($entity->translation, function ($translation) use ($original) {
-        return !empty($translation['source']) && $translation['source'] != $original;
+      $additional_source_langcodes = array_filter(array_keys($translations), function ($langcode) use ($entity, $original, $manager) {
+        $source = $manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode))->getSource();
+        return $source != $original && $source != LanguageInterface::LANGCODE_NOT_SPECIFIED;
       });
       $show_source_column = !empty($additional_source_langcodes);
 
@@ -119,7 +148,9 @@ public function overview(Request $request, $entity_type_id = NULL) {
         $links = &$operations['data']['#links'];
         if (array_key_exists($langcode, $translations)) {
           // Existing translation in the translation set: display status.
-          $source = isset($entity->translation[$langcode]['source']) ? $entity->translation[$langcode]['source'] : '';
+          $translation = $entity->getTranslation($langcode);
+          $metadata = $manager->getTranslationMetadata($translation);
+          $source = $metadata->getSource() ?: LanguageInterface::LANGCODE_NOT_SPECIFIED;
           $is_original = $langcode == $original;
           $label = $entity->getTranslation($langcode)->label();
           $link = isset($links->links[$langcode]['url']) ? $links->links[$langcode] : array('url' => $entity->urlInfo());
@@ -146,13 +177,12 @@ public function overview(Request $request, $entity_type_id = NULL) {
           if (isset($links['edit'])) {
             $links['edit']['title'] = $this->t('Edit');
           }
-          $translation = $entity->translation[$langcode];
           $status = array('data' => array(
             '#type' => 'inline_template',
             '#template' => '<span class="status">{% if status %}{{ "Published"|t }}{% else %}{{ "Not published"|t }}{% endif %}</span>{% if outdated %} <span class="marker">{{ "outdated"|t }}</span>{% endif %}',
             '#context' => array(
-              'status' => $translation['status'],
-              'outdated' => $translation['outdated'],
+              'status' => $metadata->isPublished(),
+              'outdated' => $metadata->isOutdated(),
             ),
           ));
 
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationSyncImageTest.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationSyncImageTest.php
index a343190..dfa2b4d 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationSyncImageTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationSyncImageTest.php
@@ -117,10 +117,6 @@ function testImageFieldSync() {
     $default_langcode = $this->langcodes[0];
     $langcode = $this->langcodes[1];
 
-    // Populate the required contextual values.
-    $attributes = \Drupal::request()->attributes;
-    $attributes->set('source_langcode', $default_langcode);
-
     // Populate the test entity with some random initial values.
     $values = array(
       'name' => $this->randomMachineName(),
@@ -188,6 +184,7 @@ function testImageFieldSync() {
 
     // Perform synchronization: the translation language is used as source,
     // while the default language is used as target.
+    $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($translation)->setSource($default_langcode);
     $entity = $this->saveEntity($translation);
     $translation = $entity->getTranslation($langcode);
 
@@ -217,8 +214,6 @@ function testImageFieldSync() {
       'title' => $langcode . '_' . $removed_fid . '_' . $this->randomMachineName(),
     );
     $translation->{$this->fieldName}->setValue(array_values($values[$langcode]));
-    // When updating an entity we do not have a source language defined.
-    $attributes->remove('source_langcode');
     $entity = $this->saveEntity($translation);
     $translation = $entity->getTranslation($langcode);
 
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationTestBase.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationTestBase.php
index e52036b..735e419 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationTestBase.php
@@ -79,6 +79,11 @@
    */
   protected $controller;
 
+  /**
+   * @var \Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationManagerInterface
+   */
+  protected $manager;
+
   protected function setUp() {
     parent::setUp();
 
@@ -88,6 +93,7 @@ protected function setUp() {
     $this->setupUsers();
     $this->setupTestFields();
 
+    $this->manager = $this->container->get('content_translation.manager');
     $this->controller = content_translation_controller($this->entityTypeId);
 
     // Rebuild the container so that the new languages are picked up by services
@@ -167,6 +173,7 @@ protected function enableTranslation() {
     drupal_static_reset();
     \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
     \Drupal::service('router.builder')->rebuild();
+    \Drupal::service('entity.definition_update_manager')->applyUpdates();
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationUITest.php b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationUITest.php
index 5e8497b..fb15a5c 100644
--- a/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationUITest.php
+++ b/core/modules/content_translation/src/Tests/ContentTranslationUITest.php
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 namespace Drupal\content_translation\Tests;
 
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
-use Drupal\Core\Entity\ContentEntityBase;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\Language;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageInterface;
 
@@ -163,7 +162,7 @@ protected function doTestOutdatedStatus() {
         $this->drupalGet($path);
         $this->assertFieldByXPath('//input[@name="content_translation[retranslate]"]', FALSE, 'The retranslate flag is now shown.');
         $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId, TRUE);
-        $this->assertFalse($entity->translation[$added_langcode]['outdated'], 'The "outdated" status has been correctly stored.');
+        $this->assertFalse($this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($added_langcode))->isOutdated(), 'The "outdated" status has been correctly stored.');
       }
     }
   }
@@ -181,7 +180,7 @@ protected function doTestPublishedStatus() {
         $edit = array('content_translation[status]' => FALSE);
         $this->drupalPostForm($langcode . '/' . $path, $edit, $this->getFormSubmitAction($entity, $langcode));
         $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId, TRUE);
-        $this->assertFalse($entity->translation[$langcode]['status'], 'The translation has been correctly unpublished.');
+        $this->assertFalse($this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode))->isPublished(), 'The translation has been correctly unpublished.');
       }
     }
 
@@ -215,8 +214,9 @@ protected function doTestAuthoringInfo() {
 
     $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId, TRUE);
     foreach ($this->langcodes as $langcode) {
-      $this->assertEqual($entity->translation[$langcode]['uid'], $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly stored.');
-      $this->assertEqual($entity->translation[$langcode]['created'], $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly stored.');
+      $metadata = $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode));
+      $this->assertEqual($metadata->getAuthor()->id(), $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly stored.');
+      $this->assertEqual($metadata->getCreatedTime(), $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly stored.');
     }
 
     // Try to post non valid values and check that they are rejected.
@@ -228,8 +228,9 @@ protected function doTestAuthoringInfo() {
     );
     $this->drupalPostForm($path, $edit, $this->getFormSubmitAction($entity, $langcode));
     $this->assertTrue($this->xpath('//div[contains(@class, "error")]//ul'), 'Invalid values generate a list of form errors.');
-    $this->assertEqual($entity->translation[$langcode]['uid'], $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly kept.');
-    $this->assertEqual($entity->translation[$langcode]['created'], $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly kept.');
+    $metadata = $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($entity->getTranslation($langcode));
+    $this->assertEqual($metadata->getAuthor()->id(), $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly kept.');
+    $this->assertEqual($metadata->getCreatedTime(), $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly kept.');
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/entity_reference/src/Tests/EntityReferenceFieldTranslatedReferenceViewTest.php b/core/modules/entity_reference/src/Tests/EntityReferenceFieldTranslatedReferenceViewTest.php
index 2c31c1e..10ea4ed 100644
--- a/core/modules/entity_reference/src/Tests/EntityReferenceFieldTranslatedReferenceViewTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/entity_reference/src/Tests/EntityReferenceFieldTranslatedReferenceViewTest.php
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ protected function enableTranslation() {
     drupal_static_reset();
     \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
     \Drupal::service('router.builder')->rebuild();
+    \Drupal::service('entity.definition_update_manager')->applyUpdates();
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/node/src/Tests/NodeTranslationUITest.php b/core/modules/node/src/Tests/NodeTranslationUITest.php
index b5fd27a..61e0ab4 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/src/Tests/NodeTranslationUITest.php
+++ b/core/modules/node/src/Tests/NodeTranslationUITest.php
@@ -127,9 +127,8 @@ protected function doTestPublishedStatus() {
         // The node is created as unpublished thus we switch to the published
         // status first.
         $status = !$index;
-        $this->assertEqual($status, $entity->translation[$langcode]['status'], 'The translation has been correctly unpublished.');
         $translation = $entity->getTranslation($langcode);
-        $this->assertEqual($status, $translation->isPublished(), 'The status of the translation has been correctly saved.');
+        $this->assertEqual($status, $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($translation)->isPublished(), 'The translation has been correctly unpublished.');
       }
     }
   }
@@ -164,11 +163,10 @@ protected function doTestAuthoringInfo() {
 
     $entity = entity_load($this->entityTypeId, $this->entityId, TRUE);
     foreach ($this->langcodes as $langcode) {
-      $this->assertEqual($entity->translation[$langcode]['uid'], $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly stored.');
-      $this->assertEqual($entity->translation[$langcode]['created'], $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly stored.');
       $translation = $entity->getTranslation($langcode);
-      $this->assertEqual($translation->getOwnerId(), $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Author of translation correctly stored.');
-      $this->assertEqual($translation->getCreatedTime(), $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Date of Translation correctly stored.');
+      $metadata = $this->manager->getTranslationMetadata($translation);
+      $this->assertEqual($metadata->getAuthor()->id(), $values[$langcode]['uid'], 'Translation author correctly stored.');
+      $this->assertEqual($metadata->getCreatedTime(), $values[$langcode]['created'], 'Translation date correctly stored.');
       $this->assertEqual($translation->isSticky(), $values[$langcode]['sticky'], 'Sticky of Translation correctly stored.');
       $this->assertEqual($translation->isPromoted(), $values[$langcode]['promote'], 'Promoted of Translation correctly stored.');
     }
@@ -215,7 +213,7 @@ public function testDisabledBundle() {
     ));
 
     // Make sure that nothing was inserted into the {content_translation} table.
-    $rows = db_query('SELECT * FROM {content_translation}')->fetchAll();
+    $rows = db_query('SELECT nid, count(nid) AS count FROM {node_field_data} WHERE type <> :type GROUP BY nid HAVING count >= 2', array(':type' => $this->bundle))->fetchAll();
     $this->assertEqual(0, count($rows));
 
     // Ensure the translation tab is not accessible.
diff --git a/core/modules/path/src/Tests/PathLanguageTest.php b/core/modules/path/src/Tests/PathLanguageTest.php
index f87b5a3..8d4edac 100644
--- a/core/modules/path/src/Tests/PathLanguageTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/path/src/Tests/PathLanguageTest.php
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ protected function setUp() {
       'settings[node][page][settings][language][language_show]' => 1,
     );
     $this->drupalPostForm('admin/config/regional/content-language', $edit, t('Save configuration'));
+    \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
 
     $definitions = \Drupal::entityManager()->getFieldDefinitions('node', 'page');
     $this->assertTrue($definitions['path']->isTranslatable(), 'Node path is translatable.');
diff --git a/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationFieldViewTest.php b/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationFieldViewTest.php
index f9feddf..10e450b 100644
--- a/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationFieldViewTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationFieldViewTest.php
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ protected function enableTranslation() {
     drupal_static_reset();
     \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
     \Drupal::service('router.builder')->rebuild();
+    \Drupal::service('entity.definition_update_manager')->applyUpdates();
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationUITest.php b/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationUITest.php
index f96f357..18616e1 100644
--- a/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationUITest.php
+++ b/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/TermTranslationUITest.php
@@ -95,9 +95,9 @@ public function testTranslationUI() {
 
     // Make sure that no row was inserted for taxonomy vocabularies which do
     // not have translations enabled.
-    $rows = db_query('SELECT * FROM {content_translation}')->fetchAll();
+    $rows = db_query('SELECT tid, count(tid) AS count FROM {taxonomy_term_field_data} WHERE vid <> :vid GROUP BY tid', array(':vid' => $this->bundle))->fetchAll();
     foreach ($rows as $row) {
-      $this->assertEqual('taxonomy_term', $row->entity_type, 'Row contains a taxonomy term.');
+      $this->assertTrue($row->count < 2, 'Term does not have translations.');
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/Views/TaxonomyTermViewTest.php b/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/Views/TaxonomyTermViewTest.php
index 59b6224..e50887c 100644
--- a/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/Views/TaxonomyTermViewTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/taxonomy/src/Tests/Views/TaxonomyTermViewTest.php
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ public function testTaxonomyTermView() {
     drupal_static_reset();
     \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
     \Drupal::service('router.builder')->rebuild();
+    \Drupal::service('entity.definition_update_manager')->applyUpdates();
 
     $edit['title[0][value]'] = $translated_title = $this->randomMachineName();
 
diff --git a/core/modules/user/src/Entity/User.php b/core/modules/user/src/Entity/User.php
index c003db2..904a3c0 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/src/Entity/User.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/src/Entity/User.php
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@
  *       "cancel" = "Drupal\user\Form\UserCancelForm",
  *       "register" = "Drupal\user\RegisterForm"
  *     },
- *     "translation" = "Drupal\user\ProfileTranslationHandler"
+ *     "translation" = "Drupal\user\ProfileTranslationHandler",
+ *     "content_translation_metadata" = "Drupal\user\UserTranslationMetadata"
  *   },
  *   admin_permission = "administer user",
  *   base_table = "users",
diff --git a/core/modules/user/src/UserTranslationMetadata.php b/core/modules/user/src/UserTranslationMetadata.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69a34d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/user/src/UserTranslationMetadata.php
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains \Drupal\user\ProfileTranslationHandler.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\user;
+
+use Drupal\content_translation\ContentTranslationMetadata;
+
+/**
+ * Defines the content translation metadata handler for user profiles.
+ */
+class UserTranslationMetadata extends ContentTranslationMetadata {
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  protected function hasPublishedStatus() {
+    // User status has nothing to do with translations visibility.
+    return FALSE;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  protected function hasCreatedTime() {
+    // User creation date has nothing to do with translation creation date.
+    return FALSE;
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/views/src/Tests/SearchMultilingualTest.php b/core/modules/views/src/Tests/SearchMultilingualTest.php
index 97213c3..023fe40 100644
--- a/core/modules/views/src/Tests/SearchMultilingualTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/views/src/Tests/SearchMultilingualTest.php
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ public function testMultilingualSearchFilter() {
       'settings[node][' . $type->type . '][fields][body]' => TRUE,
     );
     $this->drupalPostForm('admin/config/regional/content-language', $edit, t('Save configuration'));
+    \Drupal::entityManager()->clearCachedDefinitions();
 
     // Add a node in English, with title "sandwich".
     $values = array(
