diff --git a/package/espeak/espeak.mk b/package/espeak/espeak.mk
index d592673ac5..44893ac9be 100644
--- a/package/espeak/espeak.mk
+++ b/package/espeak/espeak.mk
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ define ESPEAK_BUILD_CMDS
 endef
 
 define ESPEAK_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(@D)/src DESTDIR="$(TARGET_DIR)" install
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(@D)/src $(TARGET_CONFIGURE_OPTS) \
+		AUDIO="$(ESPEAK_AUDIO_BACKEND)" DESTDIR="$(TARGET_DIR)" install
 endef
 
 $(eval $(generic-package))