diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 6f0225037..8e818aed5 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ The following submitted code, packages or analysis, and deserve special thanks:
   Scott Kostyshak
   Erik Wenzel
   Štěpán Henek
+  Fidel Mato
 
 Thanks to the following, who submitted detailed bug reports and excellent
 suggestions:
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c4236f56a..19cc450cb 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -100,6 +100,18 @@ else (HAVE_UUID AND HAVE_UUID_UNPARSE_LOWER)
   message ("-- libuuid not found, using internal uuid")
 endif (HAVE_UUID AND HAVE_UUID_UNPARSE_LOWER)
 
+# Set the package language.
+if (LANGUAGE)
+  set (PACKAGE_LANGUAGE ${LANGUAGE})
+else (LANGUAGE)
+  set (PACKAGE_LANGUAGE 1)
+endif (LANGUAGE)
+
+set (LANGUAGE_EN_US 1)
+set (LANGUAGE_ES_ES 2)
+set (LANGUAGE_DE_DE 3)
+set (LANGUAGE_FR_FR 4)
+
 message ("-- Configuring cmake.h")
 configure_file (
   ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake.h.in
diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 39c374f08..a8a96c9b3 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ Features
  + Virtual tags.
  + New 'modified' attribute, which contains the most recent modification date,
    if a modification has occurred.
+ + Fixed the mechanism used for selecting translations (thanks to Fidel Mato).
 
 Bugs
  + Fixed bug #1031, which kept expanding aliases after the '--' operator (thanks
diff --git a/cmake.h.in b/cmake.h.in
index 29f9fd5ed..38ae27a74 100644
--- a/cmake.h.in
+++ b/cmake.h.in
@@ -15,13 +15,11 @@
 #define TASK_RCDIR "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/${TASK_DOCDIR}/rc"
 
 /* Localization */
-#define PACKAGE_LANGUAGE  1
-#define LANGUAGE_EN_US 1
-
-/*
-Override PACKAGE_LANGUAGE, then
-#define LANGUAGE_XX_YY 2
-*/
+#define PACKAGE_LANGUAGE  ${PACKAGE_LANGUAGE}
+#define LANGUAGE_EN_US ${LANGUAGE_EN_US}
+#define LANGUAGE_ES_ES ${LANGUAGE_ES_ES}
+#define LANGUAGE_DE_DE ${LANGUAGE_DE_DE}
+#define LANGUAGE_FR_FR ${LANGUAGE_FR_FR}
 
 /* git information */
 #cmakedefine HAVE_COMMIT
diff --git a/src/en-US.h b/src/en-US.h
index a13cf0668..ccca19347 100644
--- a/src/en-US.h
+++ b/src/en-US.h
@@ -64,27 +64,28 @@
 //   2. Modify all the strings below.
 //        i.e. change "Unknown error." to "Unbekannter Fehler.".
 //
-//   3. Add your new translation to the task.git/src/i18n.h file by changing:
+//   3. Add your new translation to the task.git/src/i18n.h file, if necessary,
+//      by inserting:
 //
-//        #if PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_EN_US
-//        #include <en-US.h>
-//        #endif
-//
-//      to:
-//
-//        #if PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_EN_US
-//        #include <en-US.h>
 //        #elif PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_DE_DE
 //        #include <de-DE.h>
-//        #endif
 //
-//   4. Build your localized Taskwarrior with these commands:
+//   4. Add your new language to task.git/CMakeLists.txt, making sure that
+//      number is unique:
+//
+//        set (LANGUAGE_DE_DE 3)
+//
+//   5. Add your new language to task.git/cmake.h.in:
+//
+//        #define LANGUAGE_DE_DE ${LANGUAGE_DE_DE}                                        
+//
+//   6. Build your localized Taskwarrior with these commands:
 //
 //      cd task.git
-//      cmake -D PACKAGE_LANGUAGE=LANGUAGE_DE_DE .
+//      cmake -D LANGUAGE=3 .
 //      make
 //
-//   5. Submit your translation to support@taskwarrior.org, where it will be
+//   7. Submit your translation to support@taskwarrior.org, where it will be
 //      shared with others.
 //
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
diff --git a/src/i18n.h b/src/i18n.h
index 55f8a482d..17ee54790 100644
--- a/src/i18n.h
+++ b/src/i18n.h
@@ -44,14 +44,17 @@
 #include <cmake.h>
 
 // Translators:
-//   Duplicate these three lines, changing "EN_US" and "en-US" to the new
-//   localization.
+//   Add more, as appropriate.
 #if PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_EN_US
 #include <en-US.h>
+#elif PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_ES_ES
+#include <es-ES.h>
+#elif PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_DE_DE
+#include <de-DE.h>
+#elif PACKAGE_LANGUAGE == LANGUAGE_FR_FR
+#include <fr-FR.h>
 #endif
 
-// Add other languages here.
-
 #define CCOLOR_BOLD             500
 #define CCOLOR_UNDERLINE        501
 #define CCOLOR_ON               502