Disclosed are systems for loading an unaligned word from a specified unaligned word address in a memory, the unaligned word comprising a plurality of indexed portions crossing a word boundry, a method of operating the system comprising: loading a first aligned word commencing at an aligned word address rounded from the specified unaligned word address; identifying an index representing the location of the unaligned word address relative to the aligned word address; loading a second aligned word commencing at an aligned word address rounded from a second unaligned word address; and combining indexed portions of the first and second alinged words using the indentified index to construct the unaligned word.