diff --git a/src/GF/System/ATKSpeechInput.hs b/src/GF/System/ATKSpeechInput.hs
index 20909d591..47b3b6216 100644
--- a/src/GF/System/ATKSpeechInput.hs
+++ b/src/GF/System/ATKSpeechInput.hs
@@ -27,10 +27,6 @@ import System.Environment
 import System.IO
 import System.IO.Unsafe
 
--- FIXME: get these from somewhere else
-
-config = "/home/aarne/atk/atkrec/atkrec.cfg"
-
 data ATKLang = ATKLang {
                         hmmlist :: FilePath,
                         mmf0 :: FilePath,
@@ -38,18 +34,26 @@ data ATKLang = ATKLang {
                         dict :: FilePath
                        }
 
+atk_home_error = "The environment variable ATK_HOME is not set. "
+                 ++ "It should contain the path to your copy of ATK."
+
+gf_atk_cfg_error = "The environment variable GF_ATK_CFG is not set. "
+                   ++ "It should contain the path to your GF ATK configuration"
+                   ++ " file. A default version of this file can be found"
+                   ++ " in GF/src/gf_atk.cfg"
+
 getLanguage :: String -> IO ATKLang
 getLanguage l = 
     case l of 
            "en_UK" -> do
-                      atk_home <- getEnv "ATK_HOME"
+                      atk_home <- getEnv_ "ATK_HOME" atk_home_error
                       let res = atk_home ++ "/Resources"
                       return $ ATKLang {
                                  hmmlist = res ++ "/UK_SI_ZMFCC/hmmlistbg",
                                  mmf0 = res ++ "/UK_SI_ZMFCC/WI4",
                                  mmf1 = res ++ "/UK_SI_ZMFCC/BGHMM2",
                                  dict = res ++ "/beep.dct" }
-           _ -> fail $ "AKTSpeechInput: language " ++ l ++ " not supported"
+           _ -> fail $ "ATKSpeechInput: language " ++ l ++ " not supported"
 
 -- | List of the languages for which we have already loaded the HMM
 --   and dictionary.
@@ -62,6 +66,7 @@ initATK language =
     do
     ls <- readIORef languages
     when (null ls) $ do
+                     config <- getEnv_ "GF_ATK_CFG" gf_atk_cfg_error
                      hPutStrLn stderr $ "Initializing ATK..."
                      initialize config
     when (language `notElem` ls) $ 
@@ -91,3 +96,14 @@ recognizeSpeech name opts cfg =
     hPutStrLn stderr "Listening..."
     s <- recognize recName
     return s
+
+
+getEnv_ :: String    -- ^ Name of environment variable
+        -> String    -- ^ Message to fail with if the variable is not set.
+        -> IO String
+getEnv_ e err = 
+    do
+    env <- getEnvironment
+    case lookup e env of
+                      Just v -> return v
+                      Nothing -> fail err
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/gf_atk.cfg b/src/gf_atk.cfg
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..097406b2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gf_atk.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+# GF ATK configuration file
+# ------------------------
+
+# -- Basic audio signal processing --
+
+SOURCEFORMAT = HAUDIO	
+SOURCERATE   = 625
+TARGETKIND   = MFCC_0_D_A_Z
+TARGETRATE   = 100000.0
+WINDOWSIZE   = 250000.0
+ENORMALISE   = F
+ZMEANSOURCE  = F
+USEHAMMING   = T
+PREEMCOEF    = 0.97
+USEPOWER     = T
+NUMCHANS     = 26
+CEPLIFTER    = 22
+NUMCEPS      = 12
+SILFLOOR     = 50.0
+USESILDET    = T
+MEASURESIL   = F
+OUTSILWARN   = T
+
+# -- Silence detection ---
+
+HPARM:  CALWINDOW	= 40
+HPARM:  SPEECHTHRESH	= 9.0 
+HPARM:  SILDISCARD	= 10.0 
+HPARM:  SILENERGY	= 0.0    
+HPARM:  SPCSEQCOUNT	= 10  
+HPARM:  SPCGLCHCOUNT	= 0 
+HPARM:  SILGLCHCOUNT	= 2 
+HPARM:  SILSEQCOUNT	= 50  
+
+# -- Cepstral mean ---
+
+HPARM:  CMNTCONST       = 0.995
+HPARM:  CMNRESETONSTOP  = F
+HPARM:  CMNMINFRAMES    = 12
+
+# -- Define HMM Resources --
+
+# FIXME: make this configurable at run-time
+HPARM:  CMNDEFAULT = "/home/bjorn/src/atk/Resources/UK_SI_ZMFCC/cepmean"
+
+
+
+# -- Recogniser --
+
+AREC: TRBAKFREQ    = 1
+
+# hands free, don't return results until end
+AREC: RUNMODE      = 01441
+
+AREC: GENBEAM      = 200.0
+AREC: WORDBEAM     = 175.0
+AREC: WORDPEN      = -10.0
+
+HNET: FORCECXTEXP  = T
+HNET: ALLOWXWRDEXP = F
+HNET: MARKSUBLAT   = T
+ARMAN: AUTOSIL     = F
+
+HREC: CONFSCALE    = 0.15
+HREC: CONFOFFSET   = 0.0
+HREC: CONFBGHMM    = bghmm
+
+# -- Set visibility and positions of ATK controls --
+
+AIN: DISPSHOW      = T
+AIN: DISPXORIGIN   = 440 
+AIN: DISPYORIGIN   = 220 
+AIN: DISPHEIGHT    = 40 
+AIN: DISPWIDTH     = 160
+
+ACODE: DISPSHOW    = F
+ACODE: DISPXORIGIN = 40 
+ACODE: DISPYORIGIN = 220 
+ACODE: DISPHEIGHT  = 220 
+ACODE: DISPWIDTH   = 380 
+ACODE: MAXFGFEATS  = 13
+ACODE: NUMSTREAMS  = 1
+
+AREC: DISPSHOW     = T
+AREC: DISPXORIGIN  = 40
+AREC: DISPYORIGIN  = 20
+AREC: DISPHEIGHT   = 160
+AREC: DISPWIDTH    = 560
+
+
+# -- Debugging --
+
+HMMSET: TRACE = 0
+ADICT:  TRACE = 0
+AGRAM:  TRACE = 0
+GGRAM:  TRACE = 0
+AREC:   TRACE = 0
+ARMAN:  TRACE = 0
+HPARM:  TRACE = 0
+HNET:   TRACE = 0
+HREC:   TRACE = 0
+