diff --git a/cmake/modules/AddCompilerFlags.cmake b/cmake/modules/AddCompilerFlags.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/AddCompilerFlags.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/AddCompilerFlags.cmake
@@ -83,30 +83,28 @@
 	remove_cxx_compiler_flags(${ARGN})
 endmacro()
 
-function(add_cxx_compiler_flag_with_fallback TARGET_VAR FLAG FALLBACK)
-	# Remove the fallback flag if it exists, so that the main flag will override
-	# it if it was previously added.
-	remove_cxx_compiler_flags(${FALLBACK})
-
-	set(FLAG_CANDIDATE ${FLAG})
-	check_compiler_flag(FLAG_IS_SUPPORTED CXX ${FLAG_CANDIDATE})
-	if(NOT ${FLAG_IS_SUPPORTED})
-		set(FLAG_CANDIDATE ${FALLBACK})
-	endif()
-
-	add_compiler_flags_to_var(${TARGET_VAR} CXX ${FLAG_CANDIDATE})
-	set(${TARGET_VAR} ${${TARGET_VAR}} PARENT_SCOPE)
-endfunction()
-
-function(add_compile_options_to_configuration CONFIGURATION)
+function(add_compile_options_to_configuration_for_language CONFIGURATION LANGUAGE)
 	foreach(f ${ARGN})
-		check_compiler_flag(FLAG_IS_SUPPORTED CXX ${f})
+		check_compiler_flag(FLAG_IS_SUPPORTED ${LANGUAGE} ${f})
 		if(${FLAG_IS_SUPPORTED})
-			add_compile_options($<$<CONFIG:${CONFIGURATION}>:${f}>)
+			add_compile_options($<$<AND:$<CONFIG:${CONFIGURATION}>,$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:${LANGUAGE}>>:${f}>)
 		endif()
 	endforeach()
 endfunction()
 
+macro(add_c_compile_options_to_configuration CONFIGURATION)
+	add_compile_options_to_configuration_for_language(${CONFIGURATION} C ${ARGN})
+endmacro()
+
+macro(add_cxx_compile_options_to_configuration CONFIGURATION)
+	add_compile_options_to_configuration_for_language(${CONFIGURATION} CXX ${ARGN})
+endmacro()
+
+macro(add_compile_options_to_configuration CONFIGURATION)
+	add_c_compile_options_to_configuration(${CONFIGURATION} ${ARGN})
+	add_cxx_compile_options_to_configuration(${CONFIGURATION} ${ARGN})
+endmacro()
+
 function(add_compile_definitions_to_configuration CONFIGURATION)
 	foreach(f ${ARGN})
 		add_compile_definitions($<$<CONFIG:${CONFIGURATION}>:${f}>)
diff --git a/cmake/modules/OverrideInitFlags.cmake b/cmake/modules/OverrideInitFlags.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/OverrideInitFlags.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/OverrideInitFlags.cmake
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # This mimics the autotools behavior by setting the CFLAGS to '-g -O2`, which
 # are not well suited for debugging.
 # FIXME: update CFLAGS with better debug oriented optimization flags
-set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG_INIT "-g -O2")
+set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG_INIT "-O2")
 set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_MINSIZEREL_INIT "-Os")
 set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE_INIT "-O3")
 set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO_INIT "-g -O2")
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -42,8 +42,16 @@
 endif()
 
 include(AddCompilerFlags)
+
 # Prefer -g3, defaults to -g if unavailable
-add_cxx_compiler_flag_with_fallback(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG -g3 -g)
+foreach(LANGUAGE C CXX)
+	set(COMPILER_DEBUG_LEVEL -g)
+	check_compiler_flag(G3_IS_SUPPORTED ${LANGUAGE} -g3)
+	if(${G3_IS_SUPPORTED})
+		set(COMPILER_DEBUG_LEVEL -g3)
+	endif()
+	add_compile_options_to_configuration_for_language(Debug ${LANGUAGE} ${COMPILER_DEBUG_LEVEL})
+endforeach()
 
 # Define the debugging symbols DEBUG and DEBUG_LOCKORDER when the Debug build
 # type is selected.