Paul Platero

Paul Platero
Born	(1942-10-05)October 5, 1942 Borrego Pass, New Mexico
Died	November 16, 2020(2020-11-16) (aged 78) Tohajiilee Indian Reservation, New Mexico
Citizenship	Navajo (Diné)
Occupation	Linguist
Academic background
Alma mater	Brigham Young University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S., Ph.D.)
Thesis	Missing noun phrases in Navajo (1978)
Doctoral advisor	Kenneth L. Hale
Academic work
Institutions	University of New Mexico
Main interests	Athabaskan languages

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.[3]

Platero taught the Navajo language at institutions including Swarthmore College and the Navajo Language Academy,[4] and also participated in language revitalization efforts to promote the use of Navajo among Navajo youth.[5]

Selected works

• 2000 The Athabaskan Languages [3]

References

1. Times, Navajo (2020-11-25). "Obituaries for Nov. 25, 2020". Navajo Times. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
2. Hale, Kenneth L.; Hinton, Leanne (2001). The green book of language revitalization in practice. Boston: Academic Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-12-349353-6.
3. Platero, Paul R.; Fernald, Theodore B. (2000). The Athabaskan languages: perspectives on a Native American language family. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511947-9.
4. "The Navajo Language Academy, Inc". Retrieved 2009-05-31.
5. "Swarthmore Publications/Collection Page". Retrieved 2009-05-28.