Meredith Marra

Meredith Helena Marra (born 1974) is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor of linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, specialising in sociolinguistics and workplace discourse.

Marra completed a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington in 2003, in which she used critical discourse analysis to examine decision-making language.

She initially intended to be an accountant, but changed focus after taking a linguistic course in her second year as an undergraduate.

Since 2015 Marra has been the director of the Wellington-based Language in the Workplace project, which studies workplace language with the aim of helping improve working culture in New Zealand and overseas.

They have found that New Zealanders tend to use chit-chat and humour more than British or American workers, and this can be confusing for new migrants.

Marra has also looked at gender and ethnic identity in relation to bias and discrimination in the workplace.

Marra has co-edited a number of books, including a festschrift for Janet Holmes, with Paul Warren.

Marra then joined the faculty of Massey University, before moving back to Victoria, and rising to full professor in 2020.

Marra is a linguist, and researches workplace discourse and culture.

She focuses mainly on the language of business meetings, but has published on power, politeness, humour and aspects of identity.

Marra describes humour in the workplace as "social glue" and says that "humour is serious", as it can be used to both include and exclude people.