1. A voice operated portable information management system that is substantially language independent and capable of supporting a substantially unlimited vocabulary, including: an input transducer for receiving a user's speech; an output transducer for outputting sound including speech; a speech processing system coupled to the input and output transducers and including means for: generating and storing compressed speech data corresponding to a user's speech received through the input transducer; comparing the stored speech data; re-synthesizing the stored speech data for output as speech through the output transducer; providing an audible user interface including a speech assistant for providing instructions in the user's language; storing user-specific compressed speech data, including commands, received in response to prompts from the speech assistant for purposes of adapting the system to the user's speech; identifying memo management commands spoken by the user, and storing and organizing compressed speech data as a function of the identified commands; and identifying memo retrieval commands spoken by the user, and retrieving and outputting the stored speech data as a function of the commands.