9. In an apparatus which receives acoustic input, said input including words spoken in isolation, and performs recognition functions on said words, said apparatus including means for generating feature signals indicative of feature characteristics in the received input, and means for comparing the feature signals which occur during determined time boundaries with stored features corresponding to words in a vocabulary; an improved system for detecting word boundaries, comprising: (a) means responsive to said input for generating a first feature signal indicative of the presence of speech-like sounds which meet a predetermined energy threshold criterion; (b) means for storing the feature signals which occur during the presence of said first feature signal; (c) means responsive to said input for generating a third feature signal indicative of the presence of a voiced phonetic characteristic in said input; (d) means responsive to said input for generating a fourth feature signal indicative of the presence of an unvoiced noise-like consonant in said input; (e) means for generating a second feature signal as a function of said third and fourth feature signals; and (f) means for determining the substantially last occurrence of said second feature signal among the stored feature signals, the end boundary of an input spoken word being a function of said last occurrence.
9. In an apparatus which receives acoustic input, said input including words spoken in isolation, and performs recognition functions on said words, said apparatus including means for generating feature signals indicative of feature characteristics in the received input, and means for comparing the feature signals which occur during determined time boundaries with stored features corresponding to words in a vocabulary; an improved system for detecting word boundaries, comprising: (a) means responsive to said input for generating a first feature signal indicative of the presence of speech-like sounds which meet a predetermined energy threshold criterion; (b) means for storing the feature signals which occur during the presence of said first feature signal; (c) means responsive to said input for generating a third feature signal indicative of the presence of a voiced phonetic characteristic in said input; (d) means responsive to said input for generating a fourth feature signal indicative of the presence of an unvoiced noise-like consonant in said input; (e) means for generating a second feature signal as a function of said third and fourth feature signals; and (f) means for determining the substantially last occurrence of said second feature signal among the stored feature signals, the end boundary of an input spoken word being a function of said last occurrence. 10. A system as defined by claim 9 wherein said first feature signal has a predetermined delay in its turnoff characteristic.