diff --git a/src/formatting/text.cpp b/src/formatting/text.cpp
index 3a4f80cea..40272f3e5 100644
--- a/src/formatting/text.cpp
+++ b/src/formatting/text.cpp
@@ -63,10 +63,13 @@ void text_node::apply(char_properties const& p, feature_impl const& feature, pro
     {
         text_str = text_str.toLower();
     }
+#if !UCONFIG_NO_BREAK_ITERATION
     else if (p.text_transform == CAPITALIZE)
     {
+        // note: requires BreakIterator support in ICU which is optional
         text_str = text_str.toTitle(NULL);
     }
+#endif
     if (text_str.length() > 0) {
         output.push_back(p, text_str);
     }