Faroese now her second native language

Gie Johannessen was among the first to take Faroese as a second language over a decade ago, and today she speaks it almost fluently, reports Faroese public broadcaster KVF.

Johannessen moved to the Faroe Islands from the Philippines 12 years ago and immediately decided to learn the language. She was one of the first to enroll in evening classes. In 2014, she returned to formal instruction and asked people to speak to her only in Faroese, which helped significantly.

“I think it’s important to be part of the community, and that comes with understanding the language,” she said in an interview with KVF’s Dagur og vika program.

Learning Faroese has not been easy, Johannessen admits. She has struggled with pronunciation and with knowing when to use masculine and feminine forms. But the effort has paid off. Before mastering the language, she found it difficult to secure work. Now, she works as a relief worker in social psychiatry, communicating seamlessly with colleagues in Faroese.