Proposal discussion: BIP39 native-language display wordlists

The proposal discussed aims to refine the way seed phrases are handled within wallets without creating a new seed phrase format or altering fundamental encoding methods. The main objective is to establish fixed, independent display wordlists that correspond deterministically to canonical English BIP39 word indexes, while maintaining English BIP39 as the standard recovery form. This approach suggests that localized phrases serve merely as a wallet-level display and input mechanism rather than a new entropy encoding scheme or a substitute for BIP39.

The importance of distinguishing between different types of mnemonics, such as legacy non-English BIP39, Electrum seeds, SLIP39, and others, is emphasized due to potential ambiguities in seed phrases without sufficient context. It is crucial for wallets to explicitly differentiate between these formats to prevent any automatic incorrect reinterpretations. A wallet compatible with this system should treat English BIP39 as the canonical recovery form and must clearly label various import and export modes to ensure user clarity and control over their data.

Furthermore, the proposal advises using disjoint wordlists where possible to minimize confusion between existing BIP39 wordlists and the new display lists. These new lists should be independent, clearly identified, and mapped solely to canonical English BIP39 indexes. The strategy discourages changing the number of words or the encoding method, as such alterations would steer the initiative away from its goal of being a BIP39-compatible display/input layer and towards a different recovery phrase format with separate compatibility considerations. The feedback provided in the correspondence will be used to clarify these distinctions further in the draft proposal.