diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/sources.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/sources.sgml
index ac8f462de0e..4ed83d6189b 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/sources.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/sources.sgml
@@ -214,13 +214,12 @@ ereport(ERROR,
    </listitem>
    <listitem>
     <para>
-     <function>errdetail_log(const char *msg, ...)</function> is the same as
-     <function>errdetail</> except that this string goes only to the server
-     log, never to the client.  If both <function>errdetail</> and
-     <function>errdetail_log</> are used then one string goes to the client
-     and the other to the log.  This is useful for error details that are
-     too security-sensitive or too bulky to include in the report
-     sent to the client.
+     <function>errdetail_internal(const char *msg, ...)</function> is the same
+     as <function>errdetail</>, except that the message string will not be
+     translated nor included in the internationalization message dictionary.
+     This should be used for detail messages that are not worth expending
+     translation effort on, for instance because they are too technical to be
+     useful to most users.
     </para>
    </listitem>
    <listitem>
@@ -231,6 +230,18 @@ ereport(ERROR,
      For more information see <xref linkend="nls-guidelines">.
     </para>
    </listitem>
+   <listitem>
+    <para>
+     <function>errdetail_log(const char *msg, ...)</function> is the same as
+     <function>errdetail</> except that this string goes only to the server
+     log, never to the client.  If both <function>errdetail</> (or one of
+     its equivalents above) and
+     <function>errdetail_log</> are used then one string goes to the client
+     and the other to the log.  This is useful for error details that are
+     too security-sensitive or too bulky to include in the report
+     sent to the client.
+    </para>
+   </listitem>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      <function>errhint(const char *msg, ...)</function> supplies an optional
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/error/elog.c b/src/backend/utils/error/elog.c
index 337b875fe20..7c7927509b5 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/error/elog.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/error/elog.c
@@ -842,6 +842,33 @@ errdetail(const char *fmt,...)
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * errdetail_internal --- add a detail error message text to the current error
+ *
+ * This is exactly like errdetail() except that strings passed to
+ * errdetail_internal are not translated, and are customarily left out of the
+ * internationalization message dictionary.  This should be used for detail
+ * messages that seem not worth translating for one reason or another
+ * (typically, that they don't seem to be useful to average users).
+ */
+int
+errdetail_internal(const char *fmt,...)
+{
+	ErrorData  *edata = &errordata[errordata_stack_depth];
+	MemoryContext oldcontext;
+
+	recursion_depth++;
+	CHECK_STACK_DEPTH();
+	oldcontext = MemoryContextSwitchTo(ErrorContext);
+
+	EVALUATE_MESSAGE(detail, false, false);
+
+	MemoryContextSwitchTo(oldcontext);
+	recursion_depth--;
+	return 0;					/* return value does not matter */
+}
+
+
 /*
  * errdetail_log --- add a detail_log error message text to the current error
  */
diff --git a/src/include/utils/elog.h b/src/include/utils/elog.h
index 4a3bd026895..93b141d6839 100644
--- a/src/include/utils/elog.h
+++ b/src/include/utils/elog.h
@@ -146,6 +146,12 @@ errdetail(const char *fmt,...)
    the supplied arguments. */
 __attribute__((format(PG_PRINTF_ATTRIBUTE, 1, 2)));
 
+extern int
+errdetail_internal(const char *fmt,...)
+/* This extension allows gcc to check the format string for consistency with
+   the supplied arguments. */
+__attribute__((format(PG_PRINTF_ATTRIBUTE, 1, 2)));
+
 extern int
 errdetail_log(const char *fmt,...)
 /* This extension allows gcc to check the format string for consistency with