diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 1afa8d0c70df1..4a620558ba140 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ jobs:
         directories:
           - $HOME/.ccache
 
-    - env: CLANG=clang++ NATIVE=osx OSX_MIN=10.13 TILES=1 SOUND=1
+    - env: CLANG=clang++ NATIVE=osx OSX_MIN=10.13 TILES=1 SOUND=1 BREWGETTEXT=1
       name: "Xcode 10.1 Make build with Tiles and sound (macOS)"
       os: osx
       osx_image: xcode10.1
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 63b08fa89fa27..75e08e6a57537 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -451,6 +451,11 @@ ifeq ($(NATIVE), osx)
       LDFLAGS += -L$(LIBSDIR)/gettext/lib
       CXXFLAGS += -I$(LIBSDIR)/gettext/include
     endif
+    ifeq ($(BREWGETTEXT), 1)
+      # recent versions of brew will not allow you to link
+      LDFLAGS += -L/usr/local/opt/gettext/lib
+      CXXFLAGS += -I/usr/local/opt/gettext/include
+    endif
     ifeq ($(MACPORTS), 1)
       ifneq ($(TILES), 1)
         CXXFLAGS += -I$(shell ncursesw6-config --includedir)
diff --git a/build-scripts/requirements.sh b/build-scripts/requirements.sh
index 3e9d88ee64f0b..c45be056bd724 100644
--- a/build-scripts/requirements.sh
+++ b/build-scripts/requirements.sh
@@ -74,7 +74,6 @@ fi
 if [[ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" == "osx" ]]; then
   brew update
   brew install sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer gettext ncurses ccache
-  brew link --force gettext ncurses
 fi
 
 if [[ "$NATIVE" == "android" ]]; then
diff --git a/doc/COMPILING/COMPILING.md b/doc/COMPILING/COMPILING.md
index 6d785a93d1b72..6ab70af98c38c 100644
--- a/doc/COMPILING/COMPILING.md
+++ b/doc/COMPILING/COMPILING.md
@@ -449,11 +449,6 @@ ncurses (with wide character support enabled) and gettext are needed if you want
 For Homebrew:
 
     brew install gettext ncurses
-    brew link --force gettext ncurses
-
-Then, after compiling, be sure to unlink these libraries to prevent conflicts with the OS X shared libraries:
-
-    brew unlink gettext ncurses
 
 For MacPorts:
 
@@ -493,6 +488,7 @@ The Cataclysm source is compiled using `make`.
 * `SOUND=1` - if you want sound; this requires `TILES=1` and the additional dependencies mentioned above.
 * `FRAMEWORK=1` (tiles only) link to SDL libraries under the OS X Frameworks folders; omit to use SDL shared libraries from Homebrew or Macports.
 * `LOCALIZE=0` disable localization (to get around possible `gettext` errors if it is not setup correctly); omit to use `gettext`.
+* `BREWGETTEXT=1` set this if you don't set LOCALIZE=0 and have installed `gettext` from homebrew--homebrew will refuse to link gettext in recent versions.
 * `LANGUAGES="<lang_id_1>[lang_id_2][...]"` compile localization files for specified languages. e.g. `LANGUAGES="zh_CN zh_TW"`. You can also use `LANGUAGES=all` to compile all localization files.
 * `RELEASE=1` build an optimized release version; omit for debug build.
 * `CLANG=1` build with [Clang](http://clang.llvm.org/), the compiler that's included with the latest Command Line Tools for Xcode; omit to build using gcc/g++.