diff --git a/cld2.gemspec b/cld2.gemspec
index 38e6480..d75d452 100644
--- a/cld2.gemspec
+++ b/cld2.gemspec
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |gem|
   gem.require_paths = ["lib"]
   gem.version       = CLD::VERSION
 
-  gem.add_dependency "ffi", "~> 1.9.3"
+  gem.add_dependency "ffi", ">= 1.9.3", "< 2"
 
   gem.add_development_dependency "rspec", "~> 2.14.1"
 end
diff --git a/ext/cld/extconf.rb b/ext/cld/extconf.rb
index 8f638e6..52acce0 100644
--- a/ext/cld/extconf.rb
+++ b/ext/cld/extconf.rb
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@
   "internal/cld_generated_score_quad_octa_0122_2.o",
   "thunk.o"]
 
+# Prevents issues compiling with newer GCC versions
+$defs.push("-std=c++98")
+
 if have_library('stdc++')
   create_makefile('libcld2')
 end