Shisumbwa is a Bantu language spoken in northwestern Tanzania. It belongs to the F20 group according to the referential classification of Maho (2009), that is to say to the Sukuma-Nyamwezi group.

However, the Sumbawa lexicon shows a strong proximity with certain Interlacustrine Bantu languages ​​(JD zone), for example with the Ha language (JD66).

This dictionary was published in 1901 under the pen of Father Capus. Since then, linguist Kulikoyela K. Kahigi has produced several works on the language, including a Sumbwa-English-Swahili dictionary.