Our aim is to provide a comprehensive description of Digo words and phrases, and any reverse list would inevitably omit many Digo words for which there is no obvious English or Swahili equivalent. Like most languages, Digo has various dialects, which differ in both pronunciation and the words used. Although we have not attempted to standardise Digo in any way, the dictionary reflects the fact that the Digo Language and Literacy Project has been most active in the area between Waa and Tiwi at the coast (approximately fifteen kilometres south of Mombasa), and inland as far as Kwale and Golini (approximately twenty kilometres from the coast). Words and phrases have also been contributed by speakers from other parts of the Digo area, including Likoni township in the north and the village of Mpande near Tanga in Tanzania (at the south western tip of the Digo area). Words that are (as far as we know) unique to the southern dialects have been indicated in the dictionary by the addition of '(Tz/ (short for 'Tanzania') following the English and Swahili definitions.

'Tanzania' in this case does not exclude the possibility that the particular word or pronunciation might also be found in southern areas of Kenya, e.g. Between Msambweni and Lunga-Lunga.ġ Research for this dictionary was conducted on behalf of the Digo Language and Literacy Project (Bible Translation and Literacy, E.

Machanga kodi