Am not sure if you have found the answer to your question, but just in case you haven't and for anyone else out there, try this:
navigate to \sapphire\core\SSViewer.php, locate the following lines:
// i18n
ereg('.*[\/](.*)',$template,$path);
$content = ereg_replace('<' . '% +_t\((\'([^\']*)\'|"([^"]*)")(([^)]|\)[^ ]|\) +[^% ])*)\) +%' . '>', '<?= _t(\''. $path[1] . '.\\2\\3\'\\4) ?>', $content);
right below that look for:
// i18n - sprintf => "sprintf(_t(...),$argument)"
// CAUTION: No spaces allowed between arguments!
$content = ereg_replace('<' . '% +sprintf\(_t\((\'([^\']*)\'|"([^"]*)")(([^)]|\)[^ ]|\) +[^% ])*)\),\<\?= +([^\?]*) +\?\>) +%' . '>', '<?= sprintf(_t(\''. $path[1] . '.\\2\\3\'\\4),\\6) ?>', $content);
if you don't find it, then include it (make sure you place it right below).
OR just use the lastest version of SSviewer.php in trunk.
Hope this helps somebody out there.