FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                LERNOUT & HAUSPIE SPEECH PRODUCTS N.V. ADVISES
            CREDITORS OF DEADLINE FOR FILING CLAIMS SET BY IEPER,
                           BELGIUM COMMERCIAL COURT

IEPER, BELGIUM, BURLINGTON, MASS.  - January 31, 2001-- Lernout & Hauspie Speech
Products NV (EASDAQ: LHSP, OTC: LHSPQ) (`L&H' or `the Company'), a world leader
in speech and language technology, products and services, wishes to advise
creditors that, pursuant to the Judgment Following A Petition, dated January 5,
2001, of the Ieper, Belgium Commercial Court, creditors wishing to assert claims
as part of the concordat proceeding must file their declaration of receivables
with the clerk's office of the Commercial Court at Ieper, Grote Markt 10, Ieper,
Belgium, on or before February 8, 2001.

Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. also announced that a separate deadline
for filing claims in its chapter 11 bankruptcy case pending in the United States
before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware will be
set at a later time.  However, the filing of a proof of claim with the United
States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in connection with Lernout
& Hauspie Speech Products N.V.'s chapter 11 bankruptcy case is not a substitute
for filing a claim with the Ieper, Belgium Commercial Court as part of the
concordat proceeding.

Creditors that wish to assert claims against Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products
N.V. should consult their counsel to determine the advisability of filing such
claims in the concordat proceeding.  Creditors of Dictaphone Corporation and L&H
Holdings USA, Inc. (both of which also have chapter 11 bankruptcy cases pending
before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware) are not
required to file claims with the Ieper, Belgium Commercial Court in the
concordat proceeding unless they specifically are asserting claims against
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V.

ABOUT LERNOUT & HAUSPIE
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. ("L&H" or the "Company") is a global
leader in advanced speech and language solutions for vertical markets,
computers, automobiles, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods
and the Internet. The company is making the speech user interface (SUI) the
keystone of simple, convenient interaction between humans and technology, and is
using advanced translation technology to break down language barriers. The
company provides a wide range of offerings, including: customized solutions for
corporations; core speech technologies marketed to OEMs; end user and retail
applications for continuous speech products in horizontal and vertical markets;
and document creation, human and machine translation services, Internet
translation offerings, and linguistic tools.

L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic speech
recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), digital speech and music compression
(SMC) and text-to-text (translation). For more information, please visit Lernout
& Hauspie on the World Wide Web at www.lhsl.com.


This Press Release contains forward looking information that involves risks and
uncertainties, including statements about the Company's plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions.  Readers are cautioned that forward looking
statements include known and unknown risks, including the uncertainties
associated with the Company's recent chapter 11 filings in the United States and
similar proceedings in Belgium, uncertainty of new product development, the risk
that newly introduced products may contain undetected errors or defects or
otherwise not perform as anticipated, the early state of development of the
speech, language and medical information technology markets, the ability of
L&H's customers to successfully integrate and commercialize L&H's technology,
the retention of key technological and other personnel, currency and other risks
related to international operations, rapid technological change and intense
competition, as well as other risks set forth in L&H's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.  The forward looking statements contained
herein speak only as of the date of this Press Release.

L&H is a trademark of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. in the United
States and/or other countries. All other product names or trademarks referenced
herein are trademarks of their respective owners.


                                     # # #

L&H CONTACT INFO:
Corporate Comm:        Ron Schuermans, Lernout & Hauspie, +32-57-22-8888,
ron.schuermans@lhs.be
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Media Contact US:      Peggy Sung, Thomson Financial/Carson +1 (212) 510 9307
Investor Relations:    Allan Forsey, Lernout & Hauspie, +1 (781) 203-5233,
aforsey@lhsl.com
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