diff --git a/select2.js b/select2.js
index ec10d987..0543aafb 100644
--- a/select2.js
+++ b/select2.js
@@ -564,11 +564,16 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
     function checkFormatter(formatter, formatterName) {
         if ($.isFunction(formatter)) return true;
         if (!formatter) return false;
-        throw new Error(formatterName +" must be a function or a falsy value");
+        if (typeof(formatter) === 'string') return true;
+        throw new Error(formatterName +" must be a string, function, or falsy value");
     }
 
     function evaluate(val) {
-        return $.isFunction(val) ? val() : val;
+        if ($.isFunction(val)) {
+            var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 1);
+            return val.apply(null, args);
+        }
+        return val;
     }
 
     function countResults(results) {
@@ -1634,14 +1639,14 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
             if (maxSelSize >=1) {
                 data = this.data();
                 if ($.isArray(data) && data.length >= maxSelSize && checkFormatter(opts.formatSelectionTooBig, "formatSelectionTooBig")) {
-                    render("<li class='select2-selection-limit'>" + opts.formatSelectionTooBig(maxSelSize) + "</li>");
+                    render("<li class='select2-selection-limit'>" + evaluate(opts.formatSelectionTooBig, maxSelSize) + "</li>");
                     return;
                 }
             }
 
             if (search.val().length < opts.minimumInputLength) {
                 if (checkFormatter(opts.formatInputTooShort, "formatInputTooShort")) {
-                    render("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + opts.formatInputTooShort(search.val(), opts.minimumInputLength) + "</li>");
+                    render("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + evaluate(opts.formatInputTooShort, search.val(), opts.minimumInputLength) + "</li>");
                 } else {
                     render("");
                 }
@@ -1651,7 +1656,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
 
             if (opts.maximumInputLength && search.val().length > opts.maximumInputLength) {
                 if (checkFormatter(opts.formatInputTooLong, "formatInputTooLong")) {
-                    render("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + opts.formatInputTooLong(search.val(), opts.maximumInputLength) + "</li>");
+                    render("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + evaluate(opts.formatInputTooLong, search.val(), opts.maximumInputLength) + "</li>");
                 } else {
                     render("");
                 }
@@ -1659,7 +1664,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
             }
 
             if (opts.formatSearching && this.findHighlightableChoices().length === 0) {
-                render("<li class='select2-searching'>" + opts.formatSearching() + "</li>");
+                render("<li class='select2-searching'>" + evaluate(opts.formatSearching) + "</li>");
             }
 
             search.addClass("select2-active");
@@ -1710,7 +1715,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
                 }
 
                 if (data.results.length === 0 && checkFormatter(opts.formatNoMatches, "formatNoMatches")) {
-                    render("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + opts.formatNoMatches(search.val()) + "</li>");
+                    render("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + evaluate(opts.formatNoMatches, search.val()) + "</li>");
                     return;
                 }
 
@@ -1718,7 +1723,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
                 self.opts.populateResults.call(this, results, data.results, {term: search.val(), page: this.resultsPage, context:null});
 
                 if (data.more === true && checkFormatter(opts.formatLoadMore, "formatLoadMore")) {
-                    results.append("<li class='select2-more-results'>" + self.opts.escapeMarkup(opts.formatLoadMore(this.resultsPage)) + "</li>");
+                    results.append("<li class='select2-more-results'>" + self.opts.escapeMarkup(evaluate(opts.formatLoadMore, this.resultsPage)) + "</li>");
                     window.setTimeout(function() { self.loadMoreIfNeeded(); }, 10);
                 }
 
@@ -3042,7 +3047,7 @@ the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Apache Lic
             if(!this.opts.createSearchChoice && !choices.filter('.select2-result:not(.select2-selected)').length > 0){
                 if(!data || data && !data.more && this.results.find(".select2-no-results").length === 0) {
                     if (checkFormatter(self.opts.formatNoMatches, "formatNoMatches")) {
-                        this.results.append("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + self.opts.formatNoMatches(self.search.val()) + "</li>");
+                        this.results.append("<li class='select2-no-results'>" + evaluate(self.opts.formatNoMatches, self.search.val()) + "</li>");
                     }
                 }
             }