diff --git a/libs/openFrameworks/utils/ofUtils.cpp b/libs/openFrameworks/utils/ofUtils.cpp
index c362239b6c3..0c4af11c9e6 100644
--- a/libs/openFrameworks/utils/ofUtils.cpp
+++ b/libs/openFrameworks/utils/ofUtils.cpp
@@ -781,6 +781,16 @@ static std::locale getLocale(const string & locale) {
 	} catch (...) {
 		ofLogWarning("ofUtils") << "Couldn't create locale " << locale << " using default, " << loc.name();
 	}
+	// default locale only maps ASCII case (e.g. LANG unset): use a UTF-8 one
+	if (locale.empty() && std::tolower<wchar_t>(L'\u00C9', loc) == L'\u00C9') {
+		for (const char * name : { "C.UTF-8", "C.utf8", "en_US.UTF-8" }) {
+			try {
+				loc = std::locale(name);
+				break;
+			} catch (...) {
+			}
+		}
+	}
 #endif
 	return loc;
 }