Petar Guberina
Petar Guberina was born in 1913 in Šibenik, Croatia. He earned a degree in French and Latin from the University of Zagreb (1935), and went on to study French at the Sorbonne, where he obtained his doctorate in 1939. His thesis was entitled: Valeur logique et valeur stylistique des propositions complexes. This research opened the way to the linguistics of speech by stressing rhythm, intonation, and body movement as important features of languages and therefore of their learning. This approach put Guberina in contact with the Geneva School (Ferdinand de Saussure – Jean Piaget).
In 1951 he became professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb, where he taught until 1983. He began his teaching career at the Department of Romance Languages, where he was Dean from 1951 to 1965. He initiated the foundation of the Institute of Phonetics in 1954, which became a fully fledged academic course in 1964. He remained director of the Institute until 1983, after which he devoted himself entirely to research.
His research in “the linguistics of speech” revolutionized the teaching of modern languages and led him to the Structuro-Global Audio-Visual method (SGAV) with Paul Rivenc of CREDIF.
The Verbotonal Method, which he began to develop in the 1950's, received worldwide recognition. A large number of institutions around the world adopted the principles and methodology of the Verbotonal System. Therapists specializing in the rehabilitation of children and adults with hearing and speech disorders embraced the Verbotonal Method and the use of electroacoustic instruments designed by Petar Guberina. The bibliography of the Verbotonal System and Verbotonal Method now contains more than 10,000 titles written in 15 languages.
Apart from speech rehabilitation, the basic principles of the Verbotonal System are also built into all modern methods of teaching foreign languages, and are the starting points generally acknowledged by the producers and publishers of (electro)acoustic material and hearing aids.
Petar Guberina became the founding director of the SUVAG Polyclinic in 1961, and remained its scientific and technical adviser even after he retired. From 1982 the SUVAG Polyclinic has been known worldwide as a leading training centre for therapists, and it welcomed scholars on many international research projects.
In 1963 Petar Guberina became a full member of the Croatian (then Yugoslav) Academy of Sciences and Arts. For many years he served as a visiting or expert professor for UNICEF, UNESCO, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization. For his scientific achievements and humanitarian efforts he received many awards. He was twice decorated with the French Legion of Honour: Chevalier in 1968, and Officier in 1989. He died in 2005.
