diff --git a/src/com/shatteredpixel/shatteredpixeldungeon/messages/Messages.java b/src/com/shatteredpixel/shatteredpixeldungeon/messages/Messages.java
index 49741508a..7a74a0dc2 100644
--- a/src/com/shatteredpixel/shatteredpixeldungeon/messages/Messages.java
+++ b/src/com/shatteredpixel/shatteredpixeldungeon/messages/Messages.java
@@ -67,7 +67,16 @@ public class Messages {
 			Enumeration<String> keys = bundle.getKeys();
 			while (keys.hasMoreElements()) {
 				String key = keys.nextElement();
-				strings.put(key, bundle.getString(key));
+				String value = bundle.getString(key);
+
+				//android 2.2 doesn't use UTF-8 by default, need to force it.
+				if (android.os.Build.VERSION.SDK_INT == 8) {
+					try {
+						value = new String(value.getBytes("ISO-8859-1"), "UTF-8");
+					} catch (Exception e) {}
+				}
+
+				strings.put(key, value);
 			}
 		}
 	}