1. A method for selecting context-dependent units for speech recognition comprising: accepting a representation of the first word from a first language in terms of subword units from a first set of subword units that is associated with the first language, including accepting a first subword unit of the first word which is adjacent to the second word from a second language according to a speech recognition grammar; determining a common set of features that characterize subword units in both the first set of subword units and in a second set of subword units that is associated with the second language; and selecting one or more first context-dependent units corresponding to the first subword unit according to features in the common set of features of a second subword unit of the second word which is adjacent to the first word according to the grammar.