diff --git a/src/lib/edje/edje_util.c b/src/lib/edje/edje_util.c
index 97e00f90f3..4a522d83e5 100644
--- a/src/lib/edje/edje_util.c
+++ b/src/lib/edje/edje_util.c
@@ -357,6 +357,7 @@ _edje_object_language_set(Eo *obj, Edje *ed, const char *locale)
    char *signal;
    size_t length;
 
+   if (!locale) return;
    lookup = strstr(locale, ".");
    length = lookup ? (size_t)(lookup - locale) : strlen(locale);