diff --git a/src/FbTk/I18n.hh b/src/FbTk/I18n.hh
index b8fef0f6..cbf241d2 100644
--- a/src/FbTk/I18n.hh
+++ b/src/FbTk/I18n.hh
@@ -79,10 +79,10 @@ void catclose(nl_catd cat);
 
 #define _FB_USES_NLS
 #define _FBTEXT(msgset, msgid, default_text, description) \
-    default_text
+    std::string(default_text)
 
 #define _FBTKTEXT(msgset, msgid, default_text, description) \
-    default_text
+    std::string(default_text)
 
 #endif // defined NLS