bitcoin-dev

BIP- & SLIP-0039 -- better multi-language support

BIP- & SLIP-0039 -- better multi-language support

Original Postby Weiji Guo

Posted on: November 6, 2018 16:16 UTC

Weiji Guo has brought to the attention of the cryptocurrency community that BIP-0039 is language dependent.

The mnemonic sentence generated from the entropy depends on which language is used, and if a user chooses a non-English mnemonic code, they are stuck with that language. SLIP-0039 only provides an English wordlist, which can be problematic for non-English speakers. Guo proposes that the mnemonic code should only represent the underlying entropy or master secret, and third-party conversion tools could provide translations. Additionally, he suggests allowing the seed/secret to be represented in decimal numbers ranging from 0 to 2047 for those who have difficulty coping with words in other languages but cannot find native language support. Guo does not have a preference for implementation and is seeking input from the community.