diff --git a/libs/ardour/data_type.cc b/libs/ardour/data_type.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4a43009faf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/ardour/data_type.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+    Copyright (C) 2006 Paul Davis
+    Author: David Robillard
+
+    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+    under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
+    Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
+    any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+    ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+    FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+    for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+    with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+    675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
+*/
+
+#include "ardour/data_type.h"
+#include "i18n.h"
+
+const char *
+ARDOUR::DataType::to_i18n_string () const
+{
+	switch (_symbol) {
+	case AUDIO: return _("audio");
+	case MIDI: return _("MIDI");
+	default: return _("unknown");
+	}
+}