Tesfay Teka Endallew2025-12-112025-10-25https://repository.mu.edu.et/handle/123456789/1094This study presents a descriptive semantic analysis of gender and number in the Southern Tigray dialect of Tigrinya. Challenging the standard masculine-feminine binary, this study identified a functionally tripartite gender system: Masculine, Feminine, and a strong tendency to semantically active Neuter category. The collected data in the dialect indicated that Neuter gender denoted collectives, generic human concepts, and young animals, representing an unmarked or collective stateThe analysis, based on fieldwork and native-speaker intuition, revealed that gender assignment is strongly semantically motivated. Specific semantic fields, including liquids and abstract nouns, are predominantly masculine, while concepts linked to beauty and hope are consistently feminine. For other categories like wild animals, gender is assigned metaphorically. The number system also shows significant complexity, extending beyond the binary singularplural Semitic patterns with a productive dual, reduplication, and compounding. Plural forms can even carry sociolinguistic meaning, expressing attitudes like respect or scorn. Agreement patterns show neutralization in certain grammatical contexts such as pluralization of adjectives, and first- and third-person imperfective verbs. Ultimately, the findings demonstrate that the gender and number systems in the dialect are non-arbitrary, being deeply embedded in the cultural worldview of its speakers, contributing to both Tigrinya dialectology and linguistic typology.enThesis