diff --git a/src/totallynotmalware/i18n/Language.java b/src/totallynotmalware/i18n/Language.java
index fd42222..dc8ca64 100644
--- a/src/totallynotmalware/i18n/Language.java
+++ b/src/totallynotmalware/i18n/Language.java
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ public class Language {
 		InputStream in=this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(code+".lang");
 		if(in==null) in=this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("/data/"+code+".lang");
 		
+		// give up
+		if(in==null) throw new IOException("Language file not found: "+code);
+		
 		// read the language file
 		BufferedReader reader=new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(in));
 		for(String line=reader.readLine(); line!=null; line=reader.readLine()) {