diff --git a/include/SDL_main.h b/include/SDL_main.h
index 658fd7c1f..7a17ede87 100644
--- a/include/SDL_main.h
+++ b/include/SDL_main.h
@@ -118,7 +118,10 @@
 /**
  *  The prototype for the application's main() function
  */
-typedef C_LINKAGE SDLMAIN_DECLSPEC int (*SDL_main_func)(int argc, char *argv[]);
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C"
+#endif
+typedef int (*SDL_main_func)(int argc, char *argv[]);
 extern C_LINKAGE SDLMAIN_DECLSPEC int SDL_main(int argc, char *argv[]);