diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index d37f258515..6cb50fe249 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -236,8 +236,15 @@ po_makefile_in=po/Makefile.in
 have_po="yes"
 ],
 [
+m4_ifdef([AM_GNU_GETTEXT], [
+AM_GNU_GETTEXT([external])
+po_makefile_in=po/Makefile.in
+have_po="yes"
+],
+[
 have_po="no"
 ])
+])
 AC_SUBST([LTLIBINTL])
 LOCALE_DIR="${localedir}"
 AC_SUBST(LOCALE_DIR)