diff --git a/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml b/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml
index 8caf56d268..af62072c89 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pre-commit.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ jobs:
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v1
     - uses: actions/setup-python@v1
+    - name: Install deps
+      run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y gettext
+    - name: Populate selected submodules
+      run: git submodule update --init extmod/ulab
     - name: set PY
       run: echo >>$GITHUB_ENV PY="$(python -c 'import hashlib, sys;print(hashlib.sha256(sys.version.encode()+sys.executable.encode()).hexdigest())')"
     - uses: actions/cache@v1
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 322f37da46..82d89eaa3e 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -11,3 +11,10 @@ repos:
         exclude: '^(tests/.*\.exp|tests/cmdline/.*|tests/.*/data/.*|ports/esp32s2/esp-idf-config/.*|ports/esp32s2/boards/.*/sdkconfig)'
     -   id: trailing-whitespace
         exclude: '^(tests/.*\.exp|tests/cmdline/.*|tests/.*/data/.*)'
+-   repo: local
+    hooks:
+    -   id: translations
+        name: Check Translations
+        entry: sh -c "make translate"
+        language: system
+        always_run: true
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a1807c308f..adb206d7bc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ pseudoxml:
 all-source:
 
 locale/circuitpython.pot: all-source
-	find $(TRANSLATE_SOURCES) -type d \( $(TRANSLATE_SOURCES_EXC) \) -prune -o -type f \( -iname "*.c" -o -iname "*.h" \) -print | (LC_ALL=C sort) | xgettext -f- -L C -s --add-location=file --keyword=translate -o circuitpython.pot -p locale
+	find $(TRANSLATE_SOURCES) -type d \( $(TRANSLATE_SOURCES_EXC) \) -prune -o -type f \( -iname "*.c" -o -iname "*.h" \) -print | (LC_ALL=C sort) | xgettext -f- -L C -s --add-location=file --keyword=translate -o - | sed -e '/"POT-Creation-Date: /d' > $@
 
 # Historically, `make translate` updated the .pot file and ran msgmerge.
 # However, this was a frequent source of merge conflicts.  Weblate can perform
diff --git a/locale/circuitpython.pot b/locale/circuitpython.pot
index 3ca08b2a9f..5d80207b6e 100644
--- a/locale/circuitpython.pot
+++ b/locale/circuitpython.pot
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2021-01-04 12:55-0600\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
 "Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"