'i18n translations not working in Controller

Why would i18n translations work in a view, but not in AppController?

Doesn't work - In AppController:

class AppController extends Controller
{
    public function initialize()
    {
        parent::initialize();
        
        debug(__('My English Text'));
        ...
    }
}

Works - In my view:

<p><?= __('My English Text') ?></p>


Sources

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Source: Stack Overflow

Solution Source