diff --git a/src/mesa/drivers/dri/common/xmlpool/Makefile.am b/src/mesa/drivers/dri/common/xmlpool/Makefile.am
index b545f37..8fd5606 100644
--- a/src/mesa/drivers/dri/common/xmlpool/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/mesa/drivers/dri/common/xmlpool/Makefile.am
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ options.h: t_options.h $(MOS)
 # Update .mo files from the corresponding .po files.
 %/LC_MESSAGES/options.mo: %.po
 	@mo="$@" \
-	lang=$${mo%%/*}; \
+	lang=$*; \
 	echo "Updating ($$lang) $@ from $?."; \
 	mkdir -p $$lang/LC_MESSAGES; \
 	msgfmt -o $@ $?