Derogatory forms of personal names in Omani Arabic

This article examines the derogatory variants of personal names in
Omani Arabic that adult women use to express exasperation towards their
interlocutors in intimate social settings. These variants closely resemble the
original names phonetically, but are considered gravely insulting as derogatory
or taboo. The article describes the sociocultural functions of such derogatory
names, the differences they reveal in the usage of terms of address between the
two genders, and their distinctive role in the norms of speaking and socializing
among women in Oman.