Abstract: A method for recognizing speech is proposed wherein the process of recognition is started using the starting acoustic model (SAM) and wherein the current acoustic model (CAM) is modified by removing or cancelling model function mixture components (MFMjk) which are negligible for the description of the speaking behaviour and quality of the current speaker. Therefore, the size of the acoustic model (SAM, CAM) is reduced by adaptation to the current speaker enabling fast performance and increased recognition efficiency.