A connected digit recognition system that uses a statistical decision approach based on an expanded form of the principle of minimum residual error has been developed. The expanded distance measure includes the effects of analysis estimation error, the effects of coarticulation, and the effects of speaker variability. The recognition system has been tested on six speakers in a speaker dependent mode with recognition accuracies near 100%. It has also been tested with ten new speakers in a speaker independent mode, with a digit recognition accuracy exceeding 95%.