diff --git a/src/normal.cc b/src/normal.cc
index 2b279ace..8a3da241 100644
--- a/src/normal.cc
+++ b/src/normal.cc
@@ -1073,11 +1073,6 @@ void select_to_next_char(Context& context, NormalParams params)
     }, "select to next char","enter char to select to");
 }
 
-static bool is_basic_alpha(Codepoint c)
-{
-    return (c >= 'a' and c <= 'z') or (c >= 'A' and c <= 'Z');
-}
-
 void start_or_end_macro_recording(Context& context, NormalParams params)
 {
     if (context.input_handler().is_recording())
diff --git a/src/unicode.hh b/src/unicode.hh
index 37f3541b..a3c9313d 100644
--- a/src/unicode.hh
+++ b/src/unicode.hh
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ inline bool is_punctuation(Codepoint c)
     return not (is_word(c) or is_horizontal_blank(c) or is_eol(c));
 }
 
+inline bool is_basic_alpha(Codepoint c)
+{
+    return (c >= 'a' and c <= 'z') or (c >= 'A' and c <= 'Z');
+}
+
 enum class CharCategories
 {
     Blank,