  Understanding the properties of dwarf galaxies is important not only to put
them in their proper cosmological context, but also to understand the formation
and evolution of the most common type of galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are divided
into two main classes, dwarf irregulars (dIrrs) and dwarf spheroidals (dSphs),
which differ from each other mainly because the former are gas-rich objects
currently forming stars, while the latter are gas-deficient with no on-going
star formation. Transition types (dT) are thought to represent dIs in the
process of losing their gas, and can therefore shed light into the possible
process of dwarf irregulars (dIrrs) becoming gas-deficient, passively evolving
galaxies. Here we present preliminary results from our wide-area VLT/FORS2 MXU
spectroscopic survey of the Phoenix dT, from which we obtained line-of-sight
velocities and metallicities from the nIR Ca II triplet lines for a large
sample of individual Red Giant Branch stars.
