18. Apparatus for matching words with a string of incoming labels in a pattern recognition system, the apparatus comprising: at least one phone machine; each phone machine being characterized by having (a) a plurality of states and transition paths between states, (b) transition probabilities T(i.fwdarw.j) representing the probability of state S.sub.j given a current state S.sub.i where S.sub.i and S.sub.j may be the same state or different states, and (c) actual label probabilities wherein each actual label probability p(y.sub.k) indicates the probability that a label y.sub.k is produced by a given phone machine at a given transition from one state to a subsequent state where k is a label identifying notation; and each phone machine including (a) means for assigning to each y.sub.k in said each phone machine a single value p'(y.sub.k) and (b) means for replacing each actual output probability p(y.sub.k) at each transition in a given phone machine by the single value p'(y.sub.k) assigned to the corresponding y.sub.k.
18. Apparatus for matching words with a string of incoming labels in a pattern recognition system, the apparatus comprising: at least one phone machine; each phone machine being characterized by having (a) a plurality of states and transition paths between states, (b) transition probabilities T(i.fwdarw.j) representing the probability of state S.sub.j given a current state S.sub.i where S.sub.i and S.sub.j may be the same state or different states, and (c) actual label probabilities wherein each actual label probability p(y.sub.k) indicates the probability that a label y.sub.k is produced by a given phone machine at a given transition from one state to a subsequent state where k is a label identifying notation; and each phone machine including (a) means for assigning to each y.sub.k in said each phone machine a single value p'(y.sub.k) and (b) means for replacing each actual output probability p(y.sub.k) at each transition in a given phone machine by the single value p'(y.sub.k) assigned to the corresponding y.sub.k. 19. Apparatus as in claim 18 wherein a p'(y.sub.k) for a respective label is no less in value than any p(y.sub.k) for the respective label y.sub.k in a given phone machine.