diff --git a/.codeclimate.yml b/.codeclimate.yml
index afbc22ee..1d955bb3 100644
--- a/.codeclimate.yml
+++ b/.codeclimate.yml
@@ -40,5 +40,9 @@ plugins:
         enabled: false
       CyclomaticComplexity:
         enabled: false
+      CleanCode/ElseExpression:
+        enabled: false
+      CleanCode/BooleanArgumentFlag:
+        enabled: false
   phan:
     enabled: false
diff --git a/.php_cs b/.php_cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f310dd9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.php_cs
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+<?php
+
+$finder = PhpCsFixer\Finder::create()
+    ->in('src/Translatable');
+
+return PhpCsFixer\Config::create()
+    ->setRules([
+        'ordered_class_elements' => [
+            'order' => [
+                'use_trait',
+                'constant_public',
+                'constant_protected',
+                'constant_private',
+                'property_public',
+                'property_protected',
+                'property_private',
+                'construct',
+                'method_public_static',
+                'method_public',
+                'method_protected_static',
+                'method_protected',
+                'method_private_static',
+                'method_private',
+                'destruct',
+                'magic',
+            ],
+            'sortAlgorithm' => 'alpha',
+        ],
+        'yoda_style' => [
+            'equal' => false,
+            'identical' => false,
+            'less_and_greater' => null,
+        ],
+    ])
+    ->setFinder($finder);
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 3bc6db6b..f7003fb2 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -48,5 +48,8 @@
     },
     "config": {
         "sort-packages": true
+    },
+    "scripts": {
+        "csfix": "php-cs-fixer fix --using-cache=no"
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Translatable/Contracts/Translatable.php b/src/Translatable/Contracts/Translatable.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..612cd19e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Translatable/Contracts/Translatable.php
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts;
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany;
+
+interface Translatable
+{
+    public static function defaultAutoloadTranslations(): void;
+
+    public static function disableAutoloadTranslations(): void;
+
+    public static function enableAutoloadTranslations(): void;
+
+    public function translations(): HasMany;
+
+    public function deleteTranslations($locales = null): void;
+
+    public function getDefaultLocale(): ?string;
+
+    public function getNewTranslation(string $locale): Model;
+
+    public function getTranslation(?string $locale = null, bool $withFallback = null): ?Model;
+
+    public function getTranslationOrNew(?string $locale = null): Model;
+
+    public function getTranslationsArray(): array;
+
+    public function hasTranslation(?string $locale = null): bool;
+
+    public function isTranslationAttribute(string $key): bool;
+
+    public function replicateWithTranslations(array $except = null): Model;
+
+    public function setDefaultLocale(?string $locale);
+
+    public function translate(?string $locale = null, bool $withFallback = false): ?Model;
+
+    public function translateOrDefault(?string $locale = null): ?Model;
+
+    public function translateOrNew(?string $locale = null): Model;
+}
diff --git a/src/Translatable/Locales.php b/src/Translatable/Locales.php
index e56bac95..d7a2a4b4 100644
--- a/src/Translatable/Locales.php
+++ b/src/Translatable/Locales.php
@@ -16,14 +16,14 @@ class Locales implements Arrayable, ArrayAccess
     protected $config;
 
     /**
-     * @var TranslatorContract
+     * @var array
      */
-    protected $translator;
+    protected $locales = [];
 
     /**
-     * @var array
+     * @var TranslatorContract
      */
-    protected $locales = [];
+    protected $translator;
 
     public function __construct(ConfigContract $config, TranslatorContract $translator)
     {
@@ -33,26 +33,9 @@ public function __construct(ConfigContract $config, TranslatorContract $translat
         $this->load();
     }
 
-    public function load(): void
+    public function add(string $locale): void
     {
-        $localesConfig = (array) $this->config->get('translatable.locales', []);
-
-        if (empty($localesConfig)) {
-            throw new LocalesNotDefinedException('Please make sure you have run "php artisan config:publish astrotomic/laravel-translatable" and that the locales configuration is defined.');
-        }
-
-        $this->locales = [];
-        foreach ($localesConfig as $key => $locale) {
-            if (is_string($key) && is_array($locale)) {
-                $this->locales[$key] = $key;
-                foreach ($locale as $country) {
-                    $countryLocale = $this->getCountryLocale($key, $country);
-                    $this->locales[$countryLocale] = $countryLocale;
-                }
-            } elseif (is_string($locale)) {
-                $this->locales[$locale] = $locale;
-            }
-        }
+        $this->locales[$locale] = $locale;
     }
 
     public function all(): array
@@ -65,9 +48,9 @@ public function current()
         return $this->config->get('translatable.locale') ?: $this->translator->getLocale();
     }
 
-    public function has(string $locale): bool
+    public function forget(string $locale): void
     {
-        return isset($this->locales[$locale]);
+        unset($this->locales[$locale]);
     }
 
     public function get(string $locale): ?string
@@ -75,14 +58,14 @@ public function get(string $locale): ?string
         return $this->locales[$locale] ?? null;
     }
 
-    public function add(string $locale): void
+    public function getCountryLocale(string $locale, string $country): string
     {
-        $this->locales[$locale] = $locale;
+        return $locale.$this->getLocaleSeparator().$country;
     }
 
-    public function forget(string $locale): void
+    public function getLanguageFromCountryBasedLocale(string $locale): string
     {
-        unset($this->locales[$locale]);
+        return explode($this->getLocaleSeparator(), $locale)[0];
     }
 
     public function getLocaleSeparator(): string
@@ -90,9 +73,9 @@ public function getLocaleSeparator(): string
         return $this->config->get('translatable.locale_separator') ?: '-';
     }
 
-    public function getCountryLocale(string $locale, string $country): string
+    public function has(string $locale): bool
     {
-        return $locale.$this->getLocaleSeparator().$country;
+        return isset($this->locales[$locale]);
     }
 
     public function isLocaleCountryBased(string $locale): bool
@@ -100,14 +83,26 @@ public function isLocaleCountryBased(string $locale): bool
         return strpos($locale, $this->getLocaleSeparator()) !== false;
     }
 
-    public function getLanguageFromCountryBasedLocale(string $locale): string
+    public function load(): void
     {
-        return explode($this->getLocaleSeparator(), $locale)[0];
-    }
+        $localesConfig = (array) $this->config->get('translatable.locales', []);
 
-    public function toArray(): array
-    {
-        return $this->all();
+        if (empty($localesConfig)) {
+            throw new LocalesNotDefinedException('Please make sure you have run "php artisan config:publish astrotomic/laravel-translatable" and that the locales configuration is defined.');
+        }
+
+        $this->locales = [];
+        foreach ($localesConfig as $key => $locale) {
+            if (is_string($key) && is_array($locale)) {
+                $this->locales[$key] = $key;
+                foreach ($locale as $country) {
+                    $countryLocale = $this->getCountryLocale($key, $country);
+                    $this->locales[$countryLocale] = $countryLocale;
+                }
+            } elseif (is_string($locale)) {
+                $this->locales[$locale] = $locale;
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     public function offsetExists($key): bool
@@ -133,4 +128,9 @@ public function offsetUnset($key)
     {
         $this->forget($key);
     }
+
+    public function toArray(): array
+    {
+        return $this->all();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/Translatable/Traits/Relationship.php b/src/Translatable/Traits/Relationship.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a9b261da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Translatable/Traits/Relationship.php
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Astrotomic\Translatable\Traits;
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany;
+
+/**
+ * @property-read string $translationModel
+ * @property-read string $translationForeignKey
+ */
+trait Relationship
+{
+    /**
+     * @deprecated
+     */
+    public function getRelationKey(): string
+    {
+        return $this->getTranslationRelationKey();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @internal will change to protected
+     */
+    public function getTranslationModelName(): string
+    {
+        return $this->translationModel ?: $this->getTranslationModelNameDefault();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @internal will change to private
+     */
+    public function getTranslationModelNameDefault(): string
+    {
+        $modelName = get_class($this);
+
+        if ($namespace = $this->getTranslationModelNamespace()) {
+            $modelName = $namespace.'\\'.class_basename(get_class($this));
+        }
+
+        return $modelName.config('translatable.translation_suffix', 'Translation');
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @internal will change to private
+     */
+    public function getTranslationModelNamespace(): ?string
+    {
+        return config('translatable.translation_model_namespace');
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @internal will change to protected
+     */
+    public function getTranslationRelationKey(): string
+    {
+        if ($this->translationForeignKey) {
+            return $this->translationForeignKey;
+        }
+
+        return $this->getForeignKey();
+    }
+
+    public function translations(): HasMany
+    {
+        return $this->hasMany($this->getTranslationModelName(), $this->getTranslationRelationKey());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Translatable/Traits/Scopes.php b/src/Translatable/Traits/Scopes.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..58d933eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Translatable/Traits/Scopes.php
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Astrotomic\Translatable\Traits;
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
+use Illuminate\Database\Query\JoinClause;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\Relation;
+use Illuminate\Database\Query\Builder as QueryBuilder;
+
+trait Scopes
+{
+    public function scopeListsTranslations(Builder $query, string $translationField)
+    {
+        $withFallback = $this->useFallback();
+        $translationTable = $this->getTranslationsTable();
+        $localeKey = $this->getLocaleKey();
+
+        $query
+            ->select($this->getTable().'.'.$this->getKeyName(), $translationTable.'.'.$translationField)
+            ->leftJoin($translationTable, $translationTable.'.'.$this->getTranslationRelationKey(), '=', $this->getTable().'.'.$this->getKeyName())
+            ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->locale());
+
+        if ($withFallback) {
+            $query->orWhere(function (Builder $q) use ($translationTable, $localeKey) {
+                $q
+                    ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->getFallbackLocale())
+                    ->whereNotIn($translationTable.'.'.$this->getTranslationRelationKey(), function (QueryBuilder $q) use (
+                        $translationTable,
+                        $localeKey
+                    ) {
+                        $q
+                            ->select($translationTable.'.'.$this->getTranslationRelationKey())
+                            ->from($translationTable)
+                            ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->locale());
+                    });
+            });
+        }
+
+        return $query;
+    }
+
+    public function scopeNotTranslatedIn(Builder $query, ?string $locale = null)
+    {
+        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+
+        return $query->whereDoesntHave('translations', function (Builder $q) use ($locale) {
+            $q->where($this->getLocaleKey(), '=', $locale);
+        });
+    }
+
+    public function scopeOrderByTranslation(Builder $query, string $translationField, string $sortMethod = 'asc')
+    {
+        $translationTable = $this->getTranslationsTable();
+        $localeKey = $this->getLocaleKey();
+        $table = $this->getTable();
+        $keyName = $this->getKeyName();
+
+        return $query
+            ->join($translationTable, function (JoinClause $join) use ($translationTable, $localeKey, $table, $keyName) {
+                $join
+                    ->on($translationTable.'.'.$this->getTranslationRelationKey(), '=', $table.'.'.$keyName)
+                    ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->locale());
+            })
+            ->orderBy($translationTable.'.'.$translationField, $sortMethod)
+            ->select($table.'.*')
+            ->with('translations');
+    }
+
+    public function scopeOrWhereTranslation(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null)
+    {
+        return $this->scopeWhereTranslation($query, $translationField, $value, $locale, 'orWhereHas');
+    }
+
+    public function scopeOrWhereTranslationLike(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null)
+    {
+        return $this->scopeWhereTranslation($query, $translationField, $value, $locale, 'orWhereHas', 'LIKE');
+    }
+
+    public function scopeTranslated(Builder $query)
+    {
+        return $query->has('translations');
+    }
+
+    public function scopeTranslatedIn(Builder $query, ?string $locale = null)
+    {
+        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+
+        return $query->whereHas('translations', function (Builder $q) use ($locale) {
+            $q->where($this->getLocaleKey(), '=', $locale);
+        });
+    }
+
+    public function scopeWhereTranslation(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null, string $method = 'whereHas', string $operator = '=')
+    {
+        return $query->$method('translations', function (Builder $query) use ($translationField, $value, $locale, $operator) {
+            $query->where($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$translationField, $operator, $value);
+
+            if ($locale) {
+                $query->where($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$this->getLocaleKey(), $operator, $locale);
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+    public function scopeWhereTranslationLike(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null)
+    {
+        return $this->scopeWhereTranslation($query, $translationField, $value, $locale, 'whereHas', 'LIKE');
+    }
+
+    public function scopeWithTranslation(Builder $query)
+    {
+        $query->with([
+            'translations' => function (Relation $query) {
+                if ($this->useFallback()) {
+                    $locale = $this->locale();
+                    $countryFallbackLocale = $this->getFallbackLocale($locale); // e.g. de-DE => de
+                    $locales = array_unique([$locale, $countryFallbackLocale, $this->getFallbackLocale()]);
+
+                    return $query->whereIn($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$this->getLocaleKey(), $locales);
+                }
+
+                return $query->where($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$this->getLocaleKey(), $this->locale());
+            },
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    private function getTranslationsTable(): string
+    {
+        return app()->make($this->getTranslationModelName())->getTable();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Translatable/Translatable.php b/src/Translatable/Translatable.php
index f5548576..fa3b0985 100644
--- a/src/Translatable/Translatable.php
+++ b/src/Translatable/Translatable.php
@@ -4,12 +4,9 @@
 
 use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
-use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
-use Illuminate\Database\Query\JoinClause;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Traits\Scopes;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection;
-use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany;
-use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\Relation;
-use Illuminate\Database\Query\Builder as QueryBuilder;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Traits\Relationship;
 
 /**
  * @property-read Collection|Model[] $translations
@@ -22,6 +19,8 @@
  */
 trait Translatable
 {
+    use Scopes, Relationship;
+
     protected static $autoloadTranslations = null;
 
     protected $defaultLocale;
@@ -34,129 +33,82 @@ public static function bootTranslatable(): void
         });
     }
 
-    public function translate(?string $locale = null, bool $withFallback = false): ?Model
+    public static function defaultAutoloadTranslations(): void
     {
-        return $this->getTranslation($locale, $withFallback);
+        self::$autoloadTranslations = null;
     }
 
-    public function translateOrDefault(?string $locale = null): ?Model
+    public static function disableAutoloadTranslations(): void
     {
-        return $this->getTranslation($locale, true);
+        self::$autoloadTranslations = false;
     }
 
-    public function translateOrNew(?string $locale = null): Model
+    public static function enableAutoloadTranslations(): void
     {
-        return $this->getTranslationOrNew($locale);
+        self::$autoloadTranslations = true;
     }
 
-    public function getTranslation(?string $locale = null, bool $withFallback = null): ?Model
+    public function attributesToArray()
     {
-        $configFallbackLocale = $this->getFallbackLocale();
-        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
-        $withFallback = $withFallback === null ? $this->useFallback() : $withFallback;
-        $fallbackLocale = $this->getFallbackLocale($locale);
+        $attributes = parent::attributesToArray();
 
-        if ($translation = $this->getTranslationByLocaleKey($locale)) {
-            return $translation;
-        }
-        if ($withFallback && $fallbackLocale) {
-            if ($translation = $this->getTranslationByLocaleKey($fallbackLocale)) {
-                return $translation;
-            }
-            if (
-                is_string($configFallbackLocale)
-                && $fallbackLocale !== $configFallbackLocale
-                && $translation = $this->getTranslationByLocaleKey($configFallbackLocale)
-            ) {
-                return $translation;
-            }
+        if (
+            (! $this->relationLoaded('translations') && ! $this->toArrayAlwaysLoadsTranslations() && is_null(self::$autoloadTranslations))
+            || self::$autoloadTranslations === false
+        ) {
+            return $attributes;
         }
 
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    public function hasTranslation(?string $locale = null): bool
-    {
-        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+        $hiddenAttributes = $this->getHidden();
 
-        foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
-            if ($translation->getAttribute($this->getLocaleKey()) == $locale) {
-                return true;
+        foreach ($this->translatedAttributes as $field) {
+            if (in_array($field, $hiddenAttributes)) {
+                continue;
             }
-        }
 
-        return false;
-    }
-
-    public function getTranslationModelName(): string
-    {
-        return $this->translationModel ?: $this->getTranslationModelNameDefault();
-    }
-
-    public function getTranslationModelNameDefault(): string
-    {
-        $modelName = get_class($this);
-
-        if ($namespace = $this->getTranslationModelNamespace()) {
-            $modelName = $namespace.'\\'.class_basename(get_class($this));
+            $attributes[$field] = $this->getAttributeOrFallback(null, $field);
         }
 
-        return $modelName.config('translatable.translation_suffix', 'Translation');
-    }
-
-    public function getTranslationModelNamespace(): ?string
-    {
-        return config('translatable.translation_model_namespace');
+        return $attributes;
     }
 
-    public function getRelationKey(): string
+    /**
+     * @param string|array|null $locales The locales to be deleted
+     */
+    public function deleteTranslations($locales = null): void
     {
-        if ($this->translationForeignKey) {
-            return $this->translationForeignKey;
+        if ($locales === null) {
+            $translations = $this->translations()->get();
+        } else {
+            $locales = (array) $locales;
+            $translations = $this->translations()->whereIn($this->getLocaleKey(), $locales)->get();
         }
 
-        return $this->getForeignKey();
-    }
-
-    public function getLocaleKey(): string
-    {
-        return $this->localeKey ?: config('translatable.locale_key', 'locale');
-    }
-
-    public function translations(): HasMany
-    {
-        return $this->hasMany($this->getTranslationModelName(), $this->getRelationKey());
-    }
+        foreach ($translations as $translation) {
+            $translation->delete();
+        }
 
-    private function usePropertyFallback(): bool
-    {
-        return $this->useFallback() && config('translatable.use_property_fallback', false);
+        // we need to manually "reload" the collection built from the relationship
+        // otherwise $this->translations()->get() would NOT be the same as $this->translations
+        $this->load('translations');
     }
 
-    private function getAttributeOrFallback(?string $locale, string $attribute)
+    public function fill(array $attributes)
     {
-        $translation = $this->getTranslation($locale);
-
-        if (
-            (
-                ! $translation instanceof Model
-                || $this->isEmptyTranslatableAttribute($attribute, $translation->$attribute)
-            )
-            && $this->usePropertyFallback()
-        ) {
-            $translation = $this->getTranslation($this->getFallbackLocale(), false);
-        }
-
-        if ($translation instanceof Model) {
-            return $translation->$attribute;
+        foreach ($attributes as $key => $values) {
+            if ($this->getLocalesHelper()->has($key)) {
+                $this->getTranslationOrNew($key)->fill($values);
+                unset($attributes[$key]);
+            } else {
+                [$attribute, $locale] = $this->getAttributeAndLocale($key);
+                if ($this->isTranslationAttribute($attribute) and $this->getLocalesHelper()->has($locale)) {
+                    $this->getTranslationOrNew($locale)->fill([$attribute => $values]);
+                    unset($attributes[$key]);
+                }
+            }
         }
 
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    protected function isEmptyTranslatableAttribute(string $key, $value): bool
-    {
-        return empty($value);
+        return parent::fill($attributes);
     }
 
     public function getAttribute($key)
@@ -183,129 +135,97 @@ public function getAttribute($key)
         return parent::getAttribute($key);
     }
 
-    public function setAttribute($key, $value)
+    public function getDefaultLocale(): ?string
     {
-        [$attribute, $locale] = $this->getAttributeAndLocale($key);
-
-        if ($this->isTranslationAttribute($attribute)) {
-            $this->getTranslationOrNew($locale)->$attribute = $value;
-
-            return $this;
-        }
+        return $this->defaultLocale;
+    }
 
-        return parent::setAttribute($key, $value);
+    /**
+     * @internal will change to protected
+     */
+    public function getLocaleKey(): string
+    {
+        return $this->localeKey ?: config('translatable.locale_key', 'locale');
     }
 
-    protected function getTranslationOrNew(?string $locale = null): Model
+    public function getNewTranslation(string $locale): Model
     {
-        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+        $modelName = $this->getTranslationModelName();
 
-        if (($translation = $this->getTranslation($locale, false)) === null) {
-            $translation = $this->getNewTranslation($locale);
-        }
+        /** @var Model $translation */
+        $translation = new $modelName();
+        $translation->setAttribute($this->getLocaleKey(), $locale);
+        $this->translations->add($translation);
 
         return $translation;
     }
 
-    public function fill(array $attributes)
+    public function getTranslation(?string $locale = null, bool $withFallback = null): ?Model
     {
-        foreach ($attributes as $key => $values) {
-            if ($this->isKeyALocale($key)) {
-                $this->getTranslationOrNew($key)->fill($values);
-                unset($attributes[$key]);
-            } else {
-                [$attribute, $locale] = $this->getAttributeAndLocale($key);
-                if ($this->isTranslationAttribute($attribute) and $this->isKeyALocale($locale)) {
-                    $this->getTranslationOrNew($locale)->fill([$attribute => $values]);
-                    unset($attributes[$key]);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
-        return parent::fill($attributes);
-    }
+        $configFallbackLocale = $this->getFallbackLocale();
+        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+        $withFallback = $withFallback === null ? $this->useFallback() : $withFallback;
+        $fallbackLocale = $this->getFallbackLocale($locale);
 
-    private function getTranslationByLocaleKey(string $key): ?Model
-    {
-        foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
-            if ($translation->getAttribute($this->getLocaleKey()) == $key) {
+        if ($translation = $this->getTranslationByLocaleKey($locale)) {
+            return $translation;
+        }
+        if ($withFallback && $fallbackLocale) {
+            if ($translation = $this->getTranslationByLocaleKey($fallbackLocale)) {
                 return $translation;
             }
-        }
-
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    private function getFallbackLocale(?string $locale = null): ?string
-    {
-        if ($locale && $this->isLocaleCountryBased($locale)) {
-            if ($fallback = $this->getLanguageFromCountryBasedLocale($locale)) {
-                return $fallback;
+            if (
+                is_string($configFallbackLocale)
+                && $fallbackLocale !== $configFallbackLocale
+                && $translation = $this->getTranslationByLocaleKey($configFallbackLocale)
+            ) {
+                return $translation;
             }
         }
 
-        return config('translatable.fallback_locale');
-    }
-
-    private function isLocaleCountryBased(string $locale): bool
-    {
-        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->isLocaleCountryBased($locale);
+        return null;
     }
 
-    private function getLanguageFromCountryBasedLocale(string $locale): string
+    public function getTranslationOrNew(?string $locale = null): Model
     {
-        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->getLanguageFromCountryBasedLocale($locale);
-    }
+        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
 
-    private function useFallback(): bool
-    {
-        if (isset($this->useTranslationFallback) && $this->useTranslationFallback !== null) {
-            return $this->useTranslationFallback;
+        if (($translation = $this->getTranslation($locale, false)) === null) {
+            $translation = $this->getNewTranslation($locale);
         }
 
-        return (bool) config('translatable.use_fallback');
-    }
-
-    public function isTranslationAttribute(string $key): bool
-    {
-        return in_array($key, $this->translatedAttributes);
+        return $translation;
     }
 
-    protected function isKeyALocale(string $key): bool
+    public function getTranslationsArray(): array
     {
-        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->has($key);
-    }
+        $translations = [];
 
-    protected function getLocales(): array
-    {
-        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->all();
-    }
+        foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
+            foreach ($this->translatedAttributes as $attr) {
+                $translations[$translation->{$this->getLocaleKey()}][$attr] = $translation->{$attr};
+            }
+        }
 
-    protected function getLocaleSeparator(): string
-    {
-        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->getLocaleSeparator();
+        return $translations;
     }
 
-    protected function saveTranslations(): bool
+    public function hasTranslation(?string $locale = null): bool
     {
-        $saved = true;
-
-        if (! $this->relationLoaded('translations')) {
-            return $saved;
-        }
+        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
 
         foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
-            if ($saved && $this->isTranslationDirty($translation)) {
-                if (! empty($connectionName = $this->getConnectionName())) {
-                    $translation->setConnection($connectionName);
-                }
-
-                $translation->setAttribute($this->getRelationKey(), $this->getKey());
-                $saved = $translation->save();
+            if ($translation->getAttribute($this->getLocaleKey()) == $locale) {
+                return true;
             }
         }
 
-        return $saved;
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    public function isTranslationAttribute(string $key): bool
+    {
+        return in_array($key, $this->translatedAttributes);
     }
 
     public function replicateWithTranslations(array $except = null): Model
@@ -321,229 +241,140 @@ public function replicateWithTranslations(array $except = null): Model
         return $newInstance;
     }
 
-    protected function isTranslationDirty(Model $translation): bool
-    {
-        $dirtyAttributes = $translation->getDirty();
-        unset($dirtyAttributes[$this->getLocaleKey()]);
-
-        return count($dirtyAttributes) > 0;
-    }
-
-    public function getNewTranslation(string $locale): Model
+    public function setAttribute($key, $value)
     {
-        $modelName = $this->getTranslationModelName();
-
-        /** @var Model $translation */
-        $translation = new $modelName();
-        $translation->setAttribute($this->getLocaleKey(), $locale);
-        $this->translations->add($translation);
-
-        return $translation;
-    }
+        [$attribute, $locale] = $this->getAttributeAndLocale($key);
 
-    public function __isset($key)
-    {
-        return $this->isTranslationAttribute($key) || parent::__isset($key);
-    }
+        if ($this->isTranslationAttribute($attribute)) {
+            $this->getTranslationOrNew($locale)->$attribute = $value;
 
-    public function scopeTranslatedIn(Builder $query, ?string $locale = null)
-    {
-        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+            return $this;
+        }
 
-        return $query->whereHas('translations', function (Builder $q) use ($locale) {
-            $q->where($this->getLocaleKey(), '=', $locale);
-        });
+        return parent::setAttribute($key, $value);
     }
 
-    public function scopeNotTranslatedIn(Builder $query, ?string $locale = null)
+    public function setDefaultLocale(?string $locale)
     {
-        $locale = $locale ?: $this->locale();
+        $this->defaultLocale = $locale;
 
-        return $query->whereDoesntHave('translations', function (Builder $q) use ($locale) {
-            $q->where($this->getLocaleKey(), '=', $locale);
-        });
+        return $this;
     }
 
-    public function scopeTranslated(Builder $query)
+    public function translate(?string $locale = null, bool $withFallback = false): ?Model
     {
-        return $query->has('translations');
+        return $this->getTranslation($locale, $withFallback);
     }
 
-    public function scopeListsTranslations(Builder $query, string $translationField)
+    public function translateOrDefault(?string $locale = null): ?Model
     {
-        $withFallback = $this->useFallback();
-        $translationTable = $this->getTranslationsTable();
-        $localeKey = $this->getLocaleKey();
-
-        $query
-            ->select($this->getTable().'.'.$this->getKeyName(), $translationTable.'.'.$translationField)
-            ->leftJoin($translationTable, $translationTable.'.'.$this->getRelationKey(), '=', $this->getTable().'.'.$this->getKeyName())
-            ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->locale());
-        if ($withFallback) {
-            $query->orWhere(function (Builder $q) use ($translationTable, $localeKey) {
-                $q->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->getFallbackLocale())
-                  ->whereNotIn($translationTable.'.'.$this->getRelationKey(), function (QueryBuilder $q) use (
-                      $translationTable,
-                      $localeKey
-                  ) {
-                      $q->select($translationTable.'.'.$this->getRelationKey())
-                        ->from($translationTable)
-                        ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->locale());
-                  });
-            });
-        }
+        return $this->getTranslation($locale, true);
     }
 
-    public function scopeWithTranslation(Builder $query)
+    public function translateOrNew(?string $locale = null): Model
     {
-        $query->with([
-            'translations' => function (Relation $query) {
-                if ($this->useFallback()) {
-                    $locale = $this->locale();
-                    $countryFallbackLocale = $this->getFallbackLocale($locale); // e.g. de-DE => de
-                    $locales = array_unique([$locale, $countryFallbackLocale, $this->getFallbackLocale()]);
-
-                    return $query->whereIn($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$this->getLocaleKey(), $locales);
-                }
-
-                return $query->where($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$this->getLocaleKey(), $this->locale());
-            },
-        ]);
+        return $this->getTranslationOrNew($locale);
     }
 
-    public function scopeWhereTranslation(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null, string $method = 'whereHas', string $operator = '=')
+    protected function getLocalesHelper(): Locales
     {
-        return $query->$method('translations', function (Builder $query) use ($translationField, $value, $locale, $operator) {
-            $query->where($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$translationField, $operator, $value);
-            if ($locale) {
-                $query->where($this->getTranslationsTable().'.'.$this->getLocaleKey(), $operator, $locale);
-            }
-        });
+        return app(Locales::class);
     }
 
-    public function scopeOrWhereTranslation(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null)
+    protected function isEmptyTranslatableAttribute(string $key, $value): bool
     {
-        return $this->scopeWhereTranslation($query, $translationField, $value, $locale, 'orWhereHas');
+        return empty($value);
     }
 
-    public function scopeWhereTranslationLike(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null)
+    protected function isTranslationDirty(Model $translation): bool
     {
-        return $this->scopeWhereTranslation($query, $translationField, $value, $locale, 'whereHas', 'LIKE');
-    }
+        $dirtyAttributes = $translation->getDirty();
+        unset($dirtyAttributes[$this->getLocaleKey()]);
 
-    public function scopeOrWhereTranslationLike(Builder $query, string $translationField, $value, ?string $locale = null)
-    {
-        return $this->scopeWhereTranslation($query, $translationField, $value, $locale, 'orWhereHas', 'LIKE');
+        return count($dirtyAttributes) > 0;
     }
 
-    public function scopeOrderByTranslation(Builder $query, string $translationField, string $sortMethod = 'asc')
+    protected function locale(): string
     {
-        $translationTable = $this->getTranslationsTable();
-        $localeKey = $this->getLocaleKey();
-        $table = $this->getTable();
-        $keyName = $this->getKeyName();
+        if ($this->defaultLocale) {
+            return $this->defaultLocale;
+        }
 
-        return $query
-            ->join($translationTable, function (JoinClause $join) use ($translationTable, $localeKey, $table, $keyName) {
-                $join
-                    ->on($translationTable.'.'.$this->getRelationKey(), '=', $table.'.'.$keyName)
-                    ->where($translationTable.'.'.$localeKey, $this->locale());
-            })
-            ->orderBy($translationTable.'.'.$translationField, $sortMethod)
-            ->select($table.'.*')
-            ->with('translations');
+        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->current();
     }
 
-    public function attributesToArray()
+    protected function saveTranslations(): bool
     {
-        $attributes = parent::attributesToArray();
+        $saved = true;
 
-        if (
-            (! $this->relationLoaded('translations') && ! $this->toArrayAlwaysLoadsTranslations() && is_null(self::$autoloadTranslations))
-            || self::$autoloadTranslations === false
-        ) {
-            return $attributes;
+        if (! $this->relationLoaded('translations')) {
+            return $saved;
         }
 
-        $hiddenAttributes = $this->getHidden();
+        foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
+            if ($saved && $this->isTranslationDirty($translation)) {
+                if (! empty($connectionName = $this->getConnectionName())) {
+                    $translation->setConnection($connectionName);
+                }
 
-        foreach ($this->translatedAttributes as $field) {
-            if (in_array($field, $hiddenAttributes)) {
-                continue;
+                $translation->setAttribute($this->getTranslationRelationKey(), $this->getKey());
+                $saved = $translation->save();
             }
-
-            $attributes[$field] = $this->getAttributeOrFallback(null, $field);
         }
 
-        return $attributes;
+        return $saved;
     }
 
-    public function getTranslationsArray(): array
+    private function getAttributeAndLocale(string $key): array
     {
-        $translations = [];
-
-        foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
-            foreach ($this->translatedAttributes as $attr) {
-                $translations[$translation->{$this->getLocaleKey()}][$attr] = $translation->{$attr};
-            }
+        if (Str::contains($key, ':')) {
+            return explode(':', $key);
         }
 
-        return $translations;
+        return [$key, $this->locale()];
     }
 
-    private function getTranslationsTable(): string
+    private function getAttributeOrFallback(?string $locale, string $attribute)
     {
-        return app()->make($this->getTranslationModelName())->getTable();
-    }
+        $translation = $this->getTranslation($locale);
 
-    protected function locale(): string
-    {
-        if ($this->defaultLocale) {
-            return $this->defaultLocale;
+        if (
+            (
+                ! $translation instanceof Model
+                || $this->isEmptyTranslatableAttribute($attribute, $translation->$attribute)
+            )
+            && $this->usePropertyFallback()
+        ) {
+            $translation = $this->getTranslation($this->getFallbackLocale(), false);
         }
 
-        return $this->getLocalesHelper()->current();
-    }
-
-    public function setDefaultLocale(?string $locale)
-    {
-        $this->defaultLocale = $locale;
-
-        return $this;
-    }
+        if ($translation instanceof Model) {
+            return $translation->$attribute;
+        }
 
-    public function getDefaultLocale(): ?string
-    {
-        return $this->defaultLocale;
+        return null;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * @param string|array|null $locales The locales to be deleted
-     */
-    public function deleteTranslations($locales = null)
+    private function getFallbackLocale(?string $locale = null): ?string
     {
-        if ($locales === null) {
-            $translations = $this->translations()->get();
-        } else {
-            $locales = (array) $locales;
-            $translations = $this->translations()->whereIn($this->getLocaleKey(), $locales)->get();
-        }
-        foreach ($translations as $translation) {
-            $translation->delete();
+        if ($locale && $this->getLocalesHelper()->isLocaleCountryBased($locale)) {
+            if ($fallback = $this->getLocalesHelper()->getLanguageFromCountryBasedLocale($locale)) {
+                return $fallback;
+            }
         }
 
-        // we need to manually "reload" the collection built from the relationship
-        // otherwise $this->translations()->get() would NOT be the same as $this->translations
-        $this->load('translations');
+        return config('translatable.fallback_locale');
     }
 
-    private function getAttributeAndLocale(string $key): array
+    private function getTranslationByLocaleKey(string $key): ?Model
     {
-        if (Str::contains($key, ':')) {
-            return explode(':', $key);
+        foreach ($this->translations as $translation) {
+            if ($translation->getAttribute($this->getLocaleKey()) == $key) {
+                return $translation;
+            }
         }
 
-        return [$key, $this->locale()];
+        return null;
     }
 
     private function toArrayAlwaysLoadsTranslations(): bool
@@ -551,23 +382,22 @@ private function toArrayAlwaysLoadsTranslations(): bool
         return config('translatable.to_array_always_loads_translations', true);
     }
 
-    public static function enableAutoloadTranslations(): void
+    private function useFallback(): bool
     {
-        self::$autoloadTranslations = true;
-    }
+        if (isset($this->useTranslationFallback) && $this->useTranslationFallback !== null) {
+            return $this->useTranslationFallback;
+        }
 
-    public static function defaultAutoloadTranslations(): void
-    {
-        self::$autoloadTranslations = null;
+        return (bool) config('translatable.use_fallback');
     }
 
-    public static function disableAutoloadTranslations(): void
+    private function usePropertyFallback(): bool
     {
-        self::$autoloadTranslations = false;
+        return $this->useFallback() && config('translatable.use_property_fallback', false);
     }
 
-    protected function getLocalesHelper(): Locales
+    public function __isset($key)
     {
-        return app(Locales::class);
+        return $this->isTranslationAttribute($key) || parent::__isset($key);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Translatable/TranslatableServiceProvider.php b/src/Translatable/TranslatableServiceProvider.php
index 05e9f163..520e9911 100644
--- a/src/Translatable/TranslatableServiceProvider.php
+++ b/src/Translatable/TranslatableServiceProvider.php
@@ -13,6 +13,14 @@ public function boot()
         ], 'translatable');
     }
 
+    public function provides()
+    {
+        return [
+            'translatable.locales',
+            Locales::class,
+        ];
+    }
+
     public function register()
     {
         $this->mergeConfigFrom(
@@ -22,17 +30,9 @@ public function register()
         $this->registerTranslatableHelper();
     }
 
-    public function registerTranslatableHelper()
+    protected function registerTranslatableHelper()
     {
         $this->app->singleton('translatable.locales', Locales::class);
         $this->app->singleton(Locales::class);
     }
-
-    public function provides()
-    {
-        return [
-            'translatable.locales',
-            Locales::class,
-        ];
-    }
 }
diff --git a/tests/models/City.php b/tests/models/City.php
index 4ae80fae..ad621b59 100644
--- a/tests/models/City.php
+++ b/tests/models/City.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class City extends Eloquent
+class City extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/Continent.php b/tests/models/Continent.php
index b33657c6..fe46487a 100644
--- a/tests/models/Continent.php
+++ b/tests/models/Continent.php
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
 /**
  * A test class that has no required properties.
  */
-class Continent extends Eloquent
+class Continent extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/Country.php b/tests/models/Country.php
index 9b2cd40e..bd89e6cd 100644
--- a/tests/models/Country.php
+++ b/tests/models/Country.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class Country extends Eloquent
+class Country extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/CountryGuarded.php b/tests/models/CountryGuarded.php
index 2397aae7..36fa86cc 100644
--- a/tests/models/CountryGuarded.php
+++ b/tests/models/CountryGuarded.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class CountryGuarded extends Eloquent
+class CountryGuarded extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/CountryStrict.php b/tests/models/CountryStrict.php
index 46f5af26..76787697 100644
--- a/tests/models/CountryStrict.php
+++ b/tests/models/CountryStrict.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class CountryStrict extends Eloquent
+class CountryStrict extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/CountryWithCustomLocaleKey.php b/tests/models/CountryWithCustomLocaleKey.php
index db8a8925..b7a32515 100644
--- a/tests/models/CountryWithCustomLocaleKey.php
+++ b/tests/models/CountryWithCustomLocaleKey.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class CountryWithCustomLocaleKey extends Eloquent
+class CountryWithCustomLocaleKey extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/CountryWithCustomTranslationModel.php b/tests/models/CountryWithCustomTranslationModel.php
index 81e94364..5cd22dec 100644
--- a/tests/models/CountryWithCustomTranslationModel.php
+++ b/tests/models/CountryWithCustomTranslationModel.php
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 namespace Astrotomic\Translatable\Test\Model;
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class CountryWithCustomTranslationModel extends Country
+class CountryWithCustomTranslationModel extends Country implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/Food.php b/tests/models/Food.php
index 2f77a36f..88b235b5 100644
--- a/tests/models/Food.php
+++ b/tests/models/Food.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class Food extends Eloquent
+class Food extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;
 
diff --git a/tests/models/Person.php b/tests/models/Person.php
index 05367433..736440f5 100644
--- a/tests/models/Person.php
+++ b/tests/models/Person.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class Person extends Eloquent
+class Person extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     protected $table = 'people';
 
diff --git a/tests/models/Vegetable.php b/tests/models/Vegetable.php
index 625205ae..95df6ab2 100644
--- a/tests/models/Vegetable.php
+++ b/tests/models/Vegetable.php
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 
 use Astrotomic\Translatable\Translatable;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model as Eloquent;
+use Astrotomic\Translatable\Contracts\Translatable as TranslatableContract;
 
-class Vegetable extends Eloquent
+class Vegetable extends Eloquent implements TranslatableContract
 {
     use Translatable;