diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 76184b43..47722982 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([config])
 AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([config])
 AC_CANONICAL_SYSTEM
 AM_MAINTAINER_MODE
-AM_SILENT_RULES
+m4_ifdef([AM_SILENT_RULES], [AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])])
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([$SPL_META_NAME], [$SPL_META_VERSION])
 AC_CONFIG_HEADERS([spl_config.h], [
 	(mv spl_config.h spl_config.h.tmp &&