diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 95b94224..6257a362 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ AM_CONFIG_HEADER(config.h)
 AC_PROG_CC
 AC_PROG_INSTALL
 
+# Support silent build rules, requires at least automake-1.11. Disable
+# by either passing --disable-silent-rules to configure or passing V=1
+# to make
+m4_ifdef([AM_SILENT_RULES], [AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])])
+
 changequote(,)dnl
 if test "x$GCC" = "xyes"; then
   case " $CFLAGS " in