[bitcoindev] [bitcoin-dev] Proposal discussion: BIP39 native-language display wordlists

[Daniel Osemberg <daniosemberg@gmail.com>]

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Hi list,

I would like to ask for early feedback on an idea before attempting any 
formal BIP submission.

The proposal is a display/input layer for BIP39 recovery phrases in 
additional native languages.

The important constraint is that this does not change the BIP39 
cryptographic flow. The canonical mnemonic remains the existing BIP39 
English wordlist, and PBKDF2 is still performed on the canonical English 
form.

The native-language lists are index-paired to the English BIP39 wordlist. 
In other words, each native word maps to the same 0-2047 index as the 
corresponding English BIP39 word. Wallets could display or accept the 
native-language form for UX purposes, but internally normalize back to the 
canonical English mnemonic before seed generation.

Motivation:

Many users around the world are asked to back up and restore Bitcoin 
wallets using English recovery words, even when English is not their native 
language. This creates UX risk, spelling mistakes, misunderstanding, and 
lower confidence during backup and recovery.

This proposal tries to improve multilingual recovery UX while keeping 
compatibility with existing BIP39 behavior.

This is not:

A new seed scheme
A replacement for BIP39
A new cryptographic standard
A change to PBKDF2 input
A wallet-specific format

It is intended as a display/input convention for wallets that want to 
support native-language recovery UX while preserving canonical BIP39 
compatibility.

A draft implementation and wordlists are here:

https://github.com/osem23/bip39-wordlists-tzur

I would appreciate feedback on:

Whether this idea is appropriate for the BIP process at all
Whether it should be considered informational rather than standards-track
Whether the index-paired approach creates hidden risks
Whether wallet developers see practical value in this
How native-speaker review and normalization rules should be handled
Whether there is prior work I should study before continuing

Thank you,
Daniel

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