The missing strings : apparently the files in locale need to be updated too, 1st time I see that, usually this format is very stable, sorry but it will have to wait for next time. I have this for french too, the same strings.
The default english : no, because it's supposed to be available to any dummy who doesn't know a single english word
The missing 0.97.3 : I didn't do it on a a whim : I needed to update libintl-8.dll, but also recompile any file using it. Which meant dlls-0.97.3 became already outdated, + the 0.97.3 needed to be recompiled when 0.97.4 was just released. Useless, it's just easier to delete everything and just keep 0.97.4. Those who can compile their version can compile 0.97.3 if they want to.
precision : if you don't recompile the binary which uses this dll, it's not just the translation functions which don't work, you get a cryptic message from windows on launch and immediate return to desktop ! That's also why 0.97. 3 became useless after updating this dll if it's not recompiled.