--- a/ext/charlock_holmes/extconf.rb
+++ b/ext/charlock_holmes/extconf.rb
@@ -54,11 +54,8 @@
 have_library 'icuuc' or abort 'libicuuc missing'
 have_library 'icudata' or abort 'libicudata missing'
 
-# icu4c might be built in C++11 mode, but it also might not have been
-icuconfig = `which icu-config`.chomp if icuconfig.empty?
-if File.exist?(icuconfig) && `#{icuconfig} --cxxflags`.include?("c++11")
-  $CXXFLAGS << ' -std=c++11'
-end
+# Always use C++11
+$CXXFLAGS << ' -std=c++11'
 
 $CFLAGS << ' -Wall -funroll-loops'
 $CFLAGS << ' -Wextra -O0 -ggdb3' if ENV['DEBUG']