1. A method comprising the following computer-executable acts: causing a processor to receive a sample, wherein the sample is one of spoken utterance, an online handwriting sample, or a video signal describing movement of an object; and causing the processor to decode the sample based at least in part upon an output of a context-dependent combination of a deep structure and a Hidden Markov Model (HMM), wherein the deep structure is configured to output a posterior probability of a context-dependent unit.