| Paul Platero | |
| Birth Date: | 5 October 1942 |
| Birth Place: | Borrego Pass, New Mexico |
| Death Place: | Tohajiilee Indian Reservation, New Mexico |
| Citizenship: | Navajo (Diné) |
| Occupation: | Linguist |
| Main Interests: | Athabaskan languages |
| Alma Mater: | Brigham Young University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S., Ph.D.) |
| Thesis Year: | 1978 |
| Workplaces: | University of New Mexico |
| Thesis Title: | Missing noun phrases in Navajo |
| Thesis Url: | https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/16328 |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Kenneth L. Hale |
Paul Platero (October 5, 1942 – November 16, 2020) was a Navajo linguist. He was born into the Water’s Edge Clan for the Two Who Came To the Water Clan.[1] He was a student of the late MIT linguistics professor Ken Hale. Platero earned his Ph.D. in linguistics from MIT, with a dissertation on the relative clause in Navajo.[2]
He published articles about the syntax and grammar of Navajo, and co-edited an overview of the Athabaskan languages.
Platero taught the Navajo language at institutions including Swarthmore College and the Navajo Language Academy,[3] and also participated in language revitalization efforts to promote the use of Navajo among Navajo youth.[4]