Videa Pena De Guzman

Dr. Videa P. de Guzman specializes in syntax and morphology with a focus on the language of Tagalog. She also has interests in applied linguistics, particularly in the area of language teaching. After completing her undergraduate training in the Philippines, “Vida” went on to UCLA to complete a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (1963) and an MA in Linguistics (1964). In 1976, she completed her doctoral degree at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Vida first came to the University of Calgary in 1975 as a Visiting Assistant Professor, and then began her tenure track position in 1978. In 1981, she was promoted to Associate Professor and became Associate Professor Emeritus in 1993. Vida has taught a full range of courses at the University of Calgary, including introductory linguistics, senior courses in teaching English as a second language, and graduate courses in the syntax of Philippine languages. Vida was very active in the graduate program, and was supervisor or member of the exam committee for more than 20 students. Vida was also dedicated to university service at all levels, having served on numerous university and faculty level committees. At the departmental level, her service included terms as undergraduate advisor and graduate coordinator, as well as being a member of the Ph.D. Program Proposal Committee. In 1991–1993, she capped her service career as the Head of the Department of Linguistics. Vida has published her theoretical research in important journals such as Oceanic Linguistics, Papers in Austronesian Linguistics, Pacific Linguistics (now the Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society), and Studies in African Linguistics. She also produced two major books, both published by the University of Hawaii Press: Syntactic Derivation of Tagalog Verbs (1978, 413 pages) and the co-authored Tagalog for Beginners (1971, 863 pages).