diff --git a/kernel/params.c b/kernel/params.c
index 9de637a5c8bc920df2875910d29aba8dc0b4e3bb..af43ecdc8d9b21b21599bd1f3c8a063bc5c43100 100644
--- a/kernel/params.c
+++ b/kernel/params.c
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 #define DEBUGP(fmt, a...)
 #endif
 
-static inline int dash2underscore(char c)
+static inline char dash2underscore(char c)
 {
 	if (c == '-')
 		return '_';