diff --git a/makefile.locale b/makefile.locale
index f678c049465338050c439cf600b55f3055f01a79..31585664ab3fc2fa42487d1f148682bd48551efe 100644
--- a/makefile.locale
+++ b/makefile.locale
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ all doc-l10n: man html
 
 install-txt:
 	install -d -m 755 $(prefix)/$(lang)
-	install *.txt -m 644 $(prefix)/$(lang)
+	[ -z "$$(ls *.txt 2>/dev/null)" ] || install *.txt -m 644 $(prefix)/$(lang)
+	[ -z "$$(ls *.html 2>/dev/null)" ] || install *.html -m 644 $(prefix)/$(lang)
 
 clean:
 	rm -f *.1 *.html