diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 6f2e706f..6307dd59 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -195,6 +195,8 @@ dnl Internationalization
 dnl ###########################################################################
 
 IT_PROG_INTLTOOL(0.35.0)
+AM_GNU_GETTEXT([external])
+AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION([0.21])
 AC_SUBST(GETTEXT_PACKAGE, lightdm)
 AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(GETTEXT_PACKAGE, "$GETTEXT_PACKAGE", Gettext package)