diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 33d4732a6c4a319c4479933c826dd37be489684b..6e39af1d8bc4401332de21d6717db52b61fc066a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -16,6 +16,13 @@ NAME = Man-Eating Seals of Antiquity
 # o  print "Entering directory ...";
 MAKEFLAGS += -rR --no-print-directory
 
+# Avoid funny character set dependencies
+LC_ALL=
+LC_CTYPE=C
+LC_COLLATE=C
+LC_NUMERIC=C
+export LC_ALL LC_CTYPE LC_COLLATE LC_NUMERIC
+
 # We are using a recursive build, so we need to do a little thinking
 # to get the ordering right.
 #