Unlike many Indo-Aryan languages, but in common with Punjabi, Hindko varieties have a system of pitch accent, which is commonly referred to as "tone". In Punjabi, pitch accent has historically arisen out of the loss of voiced aspirates (. Thus in Standard Punjabi, if a voiced aspirate preceded the stressed vowel, it would lose its aspiration and cause the appearance of a high tone on that vowel: > 'tongue'. If it followed the stressed vowel, then it would lead to a high tone and lose its aspiration and, if word-initial, its voicing: > 'horse'. The same pattern has been reported for Hazara Hindko, with a low rising tone after historic voiced aspirates ( 'horse' < ), a high falling tone before historic voiced aspirates ( 'leper' < ), and level tone elsewhere ( 'bitter'). According to preliminary observations on the Hazara Hindko variety of Abbottabad, the low tone is less prominent than in Punjabi, and a trace of the aspiration is preserved: for example 'horse' would be .