Tigrinya is one of the modem Ethio-Semitic languages spoken in the Tigray region inrnEthiopia and in the highlands of Eritrea. The language has varieties on whose divisionsrnthere is no complete consensus. This study considers Eastern Tigrinya, spoken in fourrnworedas (districts), as a distinct variety. The study attempts to describe the phonology ofrnthe dialect and to identify its phonological distinctive features. The research also dealsrnwith phonological aspects of Tigrinya that have not been treated by previous studies.rnApart from describing the phonology of Eastern Tigrinya, the following are the findingsrnof the study.rn1. Phonological features peculiar to Eastern Tigrinyarna) Consonant vowel metathesisrnb) The palatal approximant Iyl replacing the high front vowel Iii when it remainsrnwith another vowel after a consonant between them is deleted.rnc) Approximant elision without any tracern2. Phonological features observed in Eastern Tigrinya as well as in the south eastern andrnsouthern varietiesrna) The voiced bilabial stop fbi intervocalically changes to the labiodentalrnapproximant [1)]rnb) The mid central vowel I~I following stem-initial velar stop /k/ or velar ejectivernstop Ik' I changes to the low vowel [ a].rn3. Phonological features obtained in Eastern Tigrinya and in the northern varietiesrna) Spirantization of velar stops and velar ejective stops after a vowelrnAfter a vowel, the voiceless velar stop /k/ and the velar ejective stop !k'i change to thernvoiceless uvular fricative [xl and the uvular ejective fricative [X'] respectively. Similarly,rnthe labialized voiceless velar stop !kwi and the labialized velar ejective stop !k,wI changernto the labialized voiceless uvular fricative [XW] and the labialized uvular ejective fricativern[X' W] respectively.rnb) Spirantization ofthe velar stops and velar ejective stops after gutturalsrnThe voiceless velar stop /k/ and the velar ejective stop !k'i after a guttural change to thernvoiceless uvular fricative [xl and the uvular ejective fricative [X'] respectively. In thernsame manner, the voiceless labialized velar stop Ikwi and the labialized ejective stop !k,wIrnchange to the voiceless labialized uvular fricative [XW] and the labialized uvular ejectivernfricative [X,W] respectively.rn4. A feature observed in Tigrinya but not treated in the previous studiesrnThe alveolar nasal In! before the labialized velar stops I kW, k'w, gWI gets assimilated byrnthe velar and the labial features