Abstract: The speech recognition rate which is necessary is determined for a selected speech recognition application. The information content of the feature vector components which is at least necessary to ensure the speech recognition rate is determined using a stored speech recognition rate information. The number of necessary feature vector components which is necessary to make available the determined information content is determined and the speech recognition is carried out using feature vectors with the determined required number of feature vector components.

Abstract: A method for a recognition system, for example for recognizing a location name according to a preset, spelled voice entry, in order to shorten the reaction time for a new start of a system in which data must first be transferred from a reading memory into a working memory via a connection at a low data rate. According to the method, the data are grouped in data blocks, corresponding to successive structural levels, with the data content being arranged in the manner of a branched tree structure, and with the data blocks in the hierarchical sequence of the associated structural branch levels being consecutively transferred from the reading to the working memory. The recognition has already begun, on the basis of the still-incomplete data set, after a plurality of levels is present, and is continued in real time with the transfer of further data blocks. The average processing time can be reduced further through an advantageous structuring and grouping of the data.