diff --git a/modules/ve-mw/dm/nodes/ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.js b/modules/ve-mw/dm/nodes/ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.js
index 04e2a60639..aaa0a41308 100644
--- a/modules/ve-mw/dm/nodes/ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.js
+++ b/modules/ve-mw/dm/nodes/ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.js
@@ -160,27 +160,23 @@ ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.toDomElements = function ( dataElement, doc,
  * renderings.
  *
  * @static
- * @param {jQuery} $element Element to process
+ * @param {HTMLElement} container Container element to process
  * @param {Object|null} opts Preview options
  * @param {boolean} [opts.describeAll=false] Treat all rules as if the
  *   "describe" flag was set. This displays every language and its associated
  *   text, not just the one appropriate for the current user.
- * @return {jQuery} $element
  */
-ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants = function ( $element, opts ) {
-	var self = this,
-		selector = '[typeof="mw:LanguageVariant"]',
-		$variantElements = $element.find( selector ).addBack( selector );
+ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants = function ( container, opts ) {
+	var self = this;
 
-	$variantElements.each( function ( _, child ) {
-		var dataMwvJSON = child.getAttribute( 'data-mw-variant' );
-		if ( dataMwvJSON && child.tagName !== 'META' ) {
+	Array.prototype.forEach.call( container.querySelectorAll( '[typeof="mw:LanguageVariant"]' ), function ( element ) {
+		var dataMwvJSON = element.getAttribute( 'data-mw-variant' );
+		if ( dataMwvJSON && element.tagName !== 'META' ) {
 			self.insertPreviewElements(
-				child, JSON.parse( dataMwvJSON ), opts
+				element, JSON.parse( dataMwvJSON ), opts
 			);
 		}
 	} );
-	return $element;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -197,10 +193,10 @@ ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants = function ( $element, opts )
  */
 ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.insertPreviewElements = function ( element, variantInfo, opts ) {
 	// Note that `element` can't be a <meta> (or other void tag)
-	$( element ).html( this.getPreviewHtml( variantInfo, opts ) );
+	element.innerHTML = this.getPreviewHtml( variantInfo, opts );
 	// This recurses into the children added by the `html` clause to ensure
 	// that nested variants are expanded.
-	this.processVariants( $( element ).children(), opts );
+	this.processVariants( element, opts );
 	return element;
 };
 
diff --git a/modules/ve-mw/init/apiresponsecache/ve.init.mw.LinkCache.js b/modules/ve-mw/init/apiresponsecache/ve.init.mw.LinkCache.js
index abbd04dc0c..f282f48442 100644
--- a/modules/ve-mw/init/apiresponsecache/ve.init.mw.LinkCache.js
+++ b/modules/ve-mw/init/apiresponsecache/ve.init.mw.LinkCache.js
@@ -118,7 +118,9 @@ ve.init.mw.LinkCache.prototype.styleElement = function ( title, $element, hasFra
 ve.init.mw.LinkCache.prototype.styleParsoidElements = function ( $elements ) {
 	if ( ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode ) {
 		// Render the user's preferred variant in language converter markup
-		ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants( $elements );
+		$elements.each( function ( i, element ) {
+			ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants( element );
+		} );
 	}
 };
 
diff --git a/modules/ve-mw/ui/contextitems/ve.ui.MWLanguageVariantNodeContextItem.js b/modules/ve-mw/ui/contextitems/ve.ui.MWLanguageVariantNodeContextItem.js
index 7a004f8956..5c687aeac5 100644
--- a/modules/ve-mw/ui/contextitems/ve.ui.MWLanguageVariantNodeContextItem.js
+++ b/modules/ve-mw/ui/contextitems/ve.ui.MWLanguageVariantNodeContextItem.js
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ ve.ui.MWLanguageVariantNodeContextItem.prototype.renderBody = function () {
 					name = ve.init.platform.getLanguageName( code.toLowerCase() ),
 					$text = $( '<td>' ).html( item.t );
 				ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants(
-					$text, { showHidden: true }
+					$text[ 0 ], { showHidden: true }
 				);
 				$table
 					.append( $( '<tr>' )
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ ve.ui.MWLanguageVariantNodeContextItem.prototype.renderBody = function () {
 		// Don't put $table in $body if the table is empty; this allows
 		// CSS :empty rules to have their proper effect.
 		ve.dm.MWLanguageVariantNode.static.processVariants(
-			$table, { showHidden: true }
+			$table[ 0 ], { showHidden: true }
 		);
 		$body.append( $table );
 	}