1. A computer implemented method for compact speech representation comprising the steps of: (a) initializing parameters of a probabilistic mapping between codes that represent speech sounds and a continuity map; (b) training the parameters of the probabilistic mapping, comprising the steps of: (1) inputting a first set of training speech sounds; (2) representing the first set of training speech sounds as a temporal sequence of the codes; (3) defining a first path through the continuity map for the sequence of codes, where the probablistic mapping defines a conditional probability of the sequence of codes given the first path; (4) finding a smooth path through the continuity map that maximizes the conditional probability of the sequence of codes; (5) repeating steps (b)(1)-(b)(4) over additional training speech sounds: (6) given the smooth paths that represent the sets of training speech sounds, adjusting the probabilistic mapping parameters to increase the conditional probability of the sequences of the codes; (c) inputting a new set of speech sounds; (d) representing the new set of speech sounds by a related sequence of the codes; (e) determining a new smooth path through the continuity map that maximizes the conditional probability of the sequence of codes given the new smooth path; and (f) outputting the continuity map coordinates of the most probable smooth path determined in step (e) as the compact representation of the new set of speech sounds.