diff --git a/src/d_main.cpp b/src/d_main.cpp
index a2c758e0bc..b6c7237043 100644
--- a/src/d_main.cpp
+++ b/src/d_main.cpp
@@ -2427,7 +2427,7 @@ void D_DoomMain (void)
 		}
 
 		// [RH] Initialize localizable strings.
-		GStrings.LoadStrings (false);
+		GStrings.LoadStrings ();
 
 		V_InitFontColors ();
 
diff --git a/src/doomstat.cpp b/src/doomstat.cpp
index b6f0e78710..c9ff769b54 100644
--- a/src/doomstat.cpp
+++ b/src/doomstat.cpp
@@ -56,10 +56,10 @@ CUSTOM_CVAR (Float, teamdamage, 0.f, CVAR_SERVERINFO)
 	}
 }
 
-CUSTOM_CVAR (String, language, "auto", CVAR_ARCHIVE)
+CUSTOM_CVAR (String, language, "auto", CVAR_ARCHIVE|CVAR_NOINITCALL)
 {
 	SetLanguageIDs ();
-	GStrings.LoadStrings (false);
+	GStrings.UpdateLanguage();
 	for (auto Level : AllLevels())
 	{
 		// does this even make sense on secondary levels...?
diff --git a/src/gamedata/d_dehacked.cpp b/src/gamedata/d_dehacked.cpp
index dbf98a17f7..4643cd492c 100644
--- a/src/gamedata/d_dehacked.cpp
+++ b/src/gamedata/d_dehacked.cpp
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ static bool  including, includenotext;
 
 static const char *unknown_str = "Unknown key %s encountered in %s %d.\n";
 
-static FStringTable *EnglishStrings;
+static StringMap EnglishStrings, DehStrings;
 
 // This is an offset to be used for computing the text stuff.
 // Straight from the DeHackEd source which was
@@ -2169,7 +2169,7 @@ static int PatchMusic (int dummy)
 		
 		keystring << "MUSIC_" << Line1;
 
-		GStrings.SetString (keystring, newname);
+		DehStrings.Insert(keystring, newname);
 		DPrintf (DMSG_SPAMMY, "Music %s set to:\n%s\n", keystring.GetChars(), newname);
 	}
 
@@ -2280,11 +2280,11 @@ static int PatchText (int oldSize)
 	const char *str;
 	do
 	{
-		str = EnglishStrings->MatchString(oldStr);
+		str = EnglishStrings.MatchString(oldStr);
 		if (str != NULL)
 		{
-			GStrings.SetString(str, newStr);
-			EnglishStrings->SetString(str, "~~");	// set to something invalid so that it won't get found again by the next iteration or  by another replacement later
+			DehStrings.Insert(str, newStr);
+			EnglishStrings.Remove(str);	// remove entry so that it won't get found again by the next iteration or  by another replacement later
 			good = true;
 		}
 	} 
@@ -2337,7 +2337,7 @@ static int PatchStrings (int dummy)
 		// Account for a discrepancy between Boom's and ZDoom's name for the red skull key pickup message
 		const char *ll = Line1;
 		if (!stricmp(ll, "GOTREDSKULL")) ll = "GOTREDSKUL";
-		GStrings.SetString (ll, holdstring);
+		DehStrings.Insert(ll, holdstring);
 		DPrintf (DMSG_SPAMMY, "%s set to:\n%s\n", Line1, holdstring.GetChars());
 	}
 
@@ -2670,11 +2670,6 @@ static void UnloadDehSupp ()
 		StyleNames.Reset();
 		AmmoNames.Reset();
 		UnchangedSpriteNames.Reset();
-		if (EnglishStrings != NULL)
-		{
-			delete EnglishStrings;
-			EnglishStrings = NULL;
-		}
 	}
 }
 
@@ -2704,12 +2699,8 @@ static bool LoadDehSupp ()
 			return true;
 		}
 
-		if (EnglishStrings == NULL)
-		{
-			EnglishStrings = new FStringTable;
-			EnglishStrings->LoadStrings (true);
-		}
-
+		if (EnglishStrings.CountUsed() == 0)
+			EnglishStrings = GStrings.GetDefaultStrings();
 
 		UnchangedSpriteNames.Resize(sprites.Size());
 		for (unsigned i = 0; i < UnchangedSpriteNames.Size(); ++i)
@@ -3079,6 +3070,8 @@ void FinishDehPatch ()
 	StateMap.ShrinkToFit();
 	TouchedActors.Clear();
 	TouchedActors.ShrinkToFit();
+	EnglishStrings.Clear();
+	GStrings.SetDehackedStrings(std::move(DehStrings));
 
 	// Now it gets nasty: We have to fiddle around with the weapons' ammo use info to make Doom's original
 	// ammo consumption work as intended.
diff --git a/src/gamedata/stringtable.cpp b/src/gamedata/stringtable.cpp
index fc5e7ea8af..2fd41e94b8 100644
--- a/src/gamedata/stringtable.cpp
+++ b/src/gamedata/stringtable.cpp
@@ -43,119 +43,31 @@
 #include "v_text.h"
 #include "gi.h"
 
-// PassNum identifies which language pass this string is from.
-// PassNum 0 is for DeHacked.
-// PassNum 1 is for * strings.
-// PassNum 2+ are for specific locales.
 
-struct FStringTable::StringEntry
-{
-	StringEntry *Next;
-	char *Name;
-	uint8_t PassNum;
-	char String[];
-};
-
-FStringTable::FStringTable ()
-{
-	for (int i = 0; i < HASH_SIZE; ++i)
-	{
-		Buckets[i] = NULL;
-	}
-}
-
-FStringTable::~FStringTable ()
-{
-	FreeData ();
-}
-
-void FStringTable::FreeData ()
-{
-	for (int i = 0; i < HASH_SIZE; ++i)
-	{
-		StringEntry *entry = Buckets[i], *next;
-		Buckets[i] = NULL;
-		while (entry != NULL)
-		{
-			next = entry->Next;
-			M_Free (entry);
-			entry = next;
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-void FStringTable::FreeNonDehackedStrings ()
-{
-	for (int i = 0; i < HASH_SIZE; ++i)
-	{
-		StringEntry *entry, *next, **pentry;
-
-		for (pentry = &Buckets[i], entry = *pentry; entry != NULL; )
-		{
-			next = entry->Next;
-			if (entry->PassNum != 0)
-			{
-				*pentry = next;
-				M_Free (entry);
-			}
-			else
-			{
-				pentry = &entry->Next;
-			}
-			entry = next;
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-void FStringTable::LoadStrings (bool enuOnly)
+void FStringTable::LoadStrings ()
 {
 	int lastlump, lump;
-	int i, j;
-
-	FreeNonDehackedStrings ();
 
 	lastlump = 0;
 
 	while ((lump = Wads.FindLump ("LANGUAGE", &lastlump)) != -1)
 	{
-		j = 0;
-		if (!enuOnly)
-		{
-			LoadLanguage (lump, MAKE_ID('*',0,0,0), true, ++j);
-			for (i = 0; i < 4; ++i)
-			{
-				LoadLanguage (lump, LanguageIDs[i], true, ++j);
-				LoadLanguage (lump, LanguageIDs[i] & MAKE_ID(0xff,0xff,0,0), true, ++j);
-				LoadLanguage (lump, LanguageIDs[i], false, ++j);
-			}
-		}
-
-		// Fill in any missing strings with the default language
-		LoadLanguage (lump, MAKE_ID('*','*',0,0), true, ++j);
+		LoadLanguage (lump);
 	}
+	UpdateLanguage();
 }
 
-void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, int passnum)
+void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum)
 {
-	static bool errordone = false;
-	const uint32_t orMask = exactMatch ? 0 : MAKE_ID(0,0,0xff,0);
-	uint32_t inCode = 0;
-	StringEntry *entry, **pentry;
-	uint32_t bucket;
-	int cmpval;
-	bool skip = true;
-
-	code |= orMask;
-
+	bool errordone = false;
+	TArray<uint32_t> activeMaps;
 	FScanner sc(lumpnum);
 	sc.SetCMode (true);
 	while (sc.GetString ())
 	{
 		if (sc.Compare ("["))
 		{ // Process language identifiers
-			bool donot = false;
-			bool forceskip = false;
-			skip = true;
+			activeMaps.Clear();
 			sc.MustGetString ();
 			do
 			{
@@ -164,17 +76,18 @@ void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, in
 				{
 					if (len == 1 && sc.String[0] == '~')
 					{
-						donot = true;
+						// deprecated and ignored
+						sc.ScriptMessage("Deprecated option '~' found in language list");
 						sc.MustGetString ();
 						continue;
 					}
 					if (len == 1 && sc.String[0] == '*')
 					{
-						inCode = MAKE_ID('*',0,0,0);
+						activeMaps.Push(MAKE_ID('*', 0, 0, 0));
 					}
 					else if (len == 7 && stricmp (sc.String, "default") == 0)
 					{
-						inCode = MAKE_ID('*','*',0,0);
+						activeMaps.Push(MAKE_ID('*', '*', 0, 0));
 					}
 					else
 					{
@@ -184,31 +97,14 @@ void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, in
 				}
 				else
 				{
-					inCode = MAKE_ID(tolower(sc.String[0]), tolower(sc.String[1]), tolower(sc.String[2]), 0);
-				}
-				if ((inCode | orMask) == code)
-				{
-					if (donot)
-					{
-						forceskip = true;
-						donot = false;
-					}
-					else
-					{
-						skip = false;
-					}
+					activeMaps.Push(MAKE_ID(tolower(sc.String[0]), tolower(sc.String[1]), tolower(sc.String[2]), 0));
 				}
 				sc.MustGetString ();
 			} while (!sc.Compare ("]"));
-			if (donot)
-			{
-				sc.ScriptError ("You must specify a language after ~");
-			}
-			skip |= forceskip;
 		}
 		else
 		{ // Process string definitions.
-			if (inCode == 0)
+			if (activeMaps.Size() == 0)
 			{
 				// LANGUAGE lump is bad. We need to check if this is an old binary
 				// lump and if so just skip it to allow old WADs to run which contain
@@ -222,7 +118,7 @@ void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, in
 				sc.ScriptError ("Found a string without a language specified.");
 			}
 
-			bool savedskip = skip;
+			bool skip = false;
 			if (sc.Compare("$"))
 			{
 				sc.MustGetStringName("ifgame");
@@ -234,20 +130,7 @@ void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, in
 
 			}
 
-			if (skip)
-			{ // We're not interested in this language, so skip the string.
-				sc.MustGetStringName ("=");
-				sc.MustGetString ();
-				do
-				{
-					sc.MustGetString ();
-				} 
-				while (!sc.Compare (";"));
-				skip = savedskip;
-				continue;
-			}
-
-			FString strName (sc.String);
+			FName strName (sc.String);
 			sc.MustGetStringName ("=");
 			sc.MustGetString ();
 			FString strText (sc.String, ProcessEscapes (sc.String));
@@ -258,39 +141,36 @@ void FStringTable::LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, in
 				strText += sc.String;
 				sc.MustGetString ();
 			}
-
-			// Does this string exist? If so, should we overwrite it?
-			bucket = MakeKey (strName.GetChars()) & (HASH_SIZE-1);
-			pentry = &Buckets[bucket];
-			entry = *pentry;
-			cmpval = 1;
-			while (entry != NULL)
+			// Insert the string into all relevant tables.
+			for (auto map : activeMaps)
 			{
-				cmpval = stricmp (entry->Name, strName.GetChars());
-				if (cmpval >= 0)
-					break;
-				pentry = &entry->Next;
-				entry = *pentry;
-			}
-			if (cmpval == 0 && entry->PassNum >= passnum)
-			{
-				*pentry = entry->Next;
-				M_Free (entry);
-				entry = NULL;
-			}
-			if (entry == NULL || cmpval > 0)
-			{
-				entry = (StringEntry *)M_Malloc (sizeof(*entry) + strText.Len() + strName.Len() + 2);
-				entry->Next = *pentry;
-				*pentry = entry;
-				strcpy (entry->String, strText.GetChars());
-				strcpy (entry->Name = entry->String + strText.Len() + 1, strName.GetChars());
-				entry->PassNum = passnum;
+				allStrings[map].Insert(strName, strText);
 			}
 		}
 	}
 }
 
+void FStringTable::UpdateLanguage()
+{
+	currentLanguageSet.Clear();
+
+	auto checkone = [&](uint32_t lang_id)
+	{
+		auto list = allStrings.CheckKey(lang_id);
+		if (list && currentLanguageSet.Find(list) == currentLanguageSet.Size())
+			currentLanguageSet.Push(list);
+	};
+
+	checkone(MAKE_ID('*', '*', '*', 0));
+	checkone(MAKE_ID('*', 0, 0, 0));
+	for (int i = 0; i < 4; ++i)
+	{
+		checkone(LanguageIDs[i]);
+		checkone(LanguageIDs[i] & MAKE_ID(0xff, 0xff, 0, 0));
+	}
+	checkone(MAKE_ID('*', '*', 0, 0));
+}
+
 // Replace \ escape sequences in a string with the escaped characters.
 size_t FStringTable::ProcessEscapes (char *iptr)
 {
@@ -321,27 +201,20 @@ size_t FStringTable::ProcessEscapes (char *iptr)
 // Finds a string by name and returns its value
 const char *FStringTable::operator[] (const char *name) const
 {
-	if (name == NULL)
+	if (name == nullptr || *name == 0)
 	{
-		return NULL;
+		return nullptr;
 	}
-	uint32_t bucket = MakeKey (name) & (HASH_SIZE - 1);
-	StringEntry *entry = Buckets[bucket];
-
-	while (entry != NULL)
+	FName nm(name, true);
+	if (nm != NAME_None)
 	{
-		int cmpval = stricmp (entry->Name, name);
-		if (cmpval == 0)
+		for (auto map : currentLanguageSet)
 		{
-			return entry->String;
+			auto item = map->CheckKey(nm);
+			if (item) return item->GetChars();
 		}
-		if (cmpval == 1)
-		{
-			return NULL;
-		}
-		entry = entry->Next;
 	}
-	return NULL;
+	return nullptr;
 }
 
 // Finds a string by name and returns its value. If the string does
@@ -352,75 +225,19 @@ const char *FStringTable::operator() (const char *name) const
 	return str ? str : name;
 }
 
-// Find a string by name. pentry1 is a pointer to a pointer to it, and entry1 is a
-// pointer to it. Return NULL for entry1 if it wasn't found.
-void FStringTable::FindString (const char *name, StringEntry **&pentry1, StringEntry *&entry1)
-{
-	uint32_t bucket = MakeKey (name) & (HASH_SIZE - 1);
-	StringEntry **pentry = &Buckets[bucket], *entry = *pentry;
-
-	while (entry != NULL)
-	{
-		int cmpval = stricmp (entry->Name, name);
-		if (cmpval == 0)
-		{
-			pentry1 = pentry;
-			entry1 = entry;
-			return;
-		}
-		if (cmpval == 1)
-		{
-			pentry1 = pentry;
-			entry1 = NULL;
-			return;
-		}
-		pentry = &entry->Next;
-		entry = *pentry;
-	}
-	pentry1 = pentry;
-	entry1 = entry;
-}
 
 // Find a string with the same exact text. Returns its name.
-const char *FStringTable::MatchString (const char *string) const
+const char *StringMap::MatchString (const char *string) const
 {
-	for (int i = 0; i < HASH_SIZE; ++i)
+	StringMap::ConstIterator it(*this);
+	StringMap::ConstPair *pair;
+
+	while (it.NextPair(pair))
 	{
-		for (StringEntry *entry = Buckets[i]; entry != NULL; entry = entry->Next)
+		if (pair->Value.Compare(string) == 0)
 		{
-			if (strcmp (entry->String, string) == 0)
-			{
-				return entry->Name;
-			}
+			return pair->Key.GetChars();
 		}
 	}
-	return NULL;
-}
-
-void FStringTable::SetString (const char *name, const char *newString)
-{
-	StringEntry **pentry, *oentry;
-	FindString (name, pentry, oentry);
-
-	size_t newlen = strlen (newString);
-	size_t namelen = strlen (name);
-
-	// Create a new string entry
-	StringEntry *entry = (StringEntry *)M_Malloc (sizeof(*entry) + newlen + namelen + 2);
-	strcpy (entry->String, newString);
-	strcpy (entry->Name = entry->String + newlen + 1, name);
-	entry->PassNum = 0;
-
-	// If this is a new string, insert it. Otherwise, replace the old one.
-	if (oentry == NULL)
-	{
-		entry->Next = *pentry;
-		*pentry = entry;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		*pentry = entry;
-		entry->Next = oentry->Next;
-		M_Free (oentry);
-	}
+	return nullptr;
 }
diff --git a/src/gamedata/stringtable.h b/src/gamedata/stringtable.h
index 792ef06b3a..1c479ba5a5 100644
--- a/src/gamedata/stringtable.h
+++ b/src/gamedata/stringtable.h
@@ -44,34 +44,41 @@
 
 
 #include <stdlib.h>
+#include "doomdef.h"
 #include "doomtype.h"
 
+// This public interface is for Dehacked
+class StringMap : public TMap<FName, FString>
+{
+public:
+	const char *MatchString(const char *string) const;
+};
+
+
 class FStringTable
 {
 public:
-	struct StringEntry;
+	using LangMap = TMap<uint32_t, StringMap>;
 
-	FStringTable ();
-	~FStringTable ();
-
-	void LoadStrings (bool enuOnly);
+	void LoadStrings ();
+	void UpdateLanguage();
+	StringMap GetDefaultStrings() { return allStrings[MAKE_ID('*', '*', 0, 0)]; }	// Dehacked needs these for comparison
+	void SetDehackedStrings(StringMap && map)
+	{
+		allStrings.Insert(MAKE_ID('*', '*', '*', 0), map);
+		UpdateLanguage();
+	}
 
 	const char *operator() (const char *name) const;	// Never returns NULL
 	const char *operator[] (const char *name) const;	// Can return NULL
 
-	const char *MatchString (const char *string) const;
-	void SetString (const char *name, const char *newString);
-
 private:
-	enum { HASH_SIZE = 128 };
 
-	StringEntry *Buckets[HASH_SIZE];
+	LangMap allStrings;
+	TArray<StringMap*> currentLanguageSet;
 
-	void FreeData ();
-	void FreeNonDehackedStrings ();
-	void LoadLanguage (int lumpnum, uint32_t code, bool exactMatch, int passnum);
+	void LoadLanguage (int lumpnum);
 	static size_t ProcessEscapes (char *str);
-	void FindString (const char *stringName, StringEntry **&pentry, StringEntry *&entry);
 };
 
 #endif //__STRINGTABLE_H__
diff --git a/wadsrc/static/language.enu b/wadsrc/static/language.enu
index 54cb51ef14..7ad4b6ca7c 100644
--- a/wadsrc/static/language.enu
+++ b/wadsrc/static/language.enu
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /* U.S. English. (Sorry, it's not English English.) */
 
-[enu default]
+[en default]
 
 SECRETMESSAGE = "A secret is revealed!";