Editing Gimel (section)

=== Historical pronunciation ===
While in most Semitic languages, e.g. [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Geʽez|Ge'ez]], [[Old South Arabian]] the equivalent letter represents a {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, Arabic is considered unique among them where the ''Jīm'' {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} was [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalized]] to an affricate {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} or a fricative {{IPAblink|ʒ}} in most dialects from classical times. While there is variation in Modern Arabic varieties, most of them reflect this palatalized pronunciation except in coastal [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemeni]] and [[Omani Arabic|Omani]] dialects as well as in Egypt, where it is pronounced {{IPAblink|g}}.

It is not well known when palatalization occurred or the probability of it being connected to the pronunciation of ''Qāf'' {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} as a {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, but in most of the [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian peninsula]] (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and parts of Yemen and Oman), the {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} and {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, except in coastal [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemen]] and southern [[Omani Arabic|Oman]] where {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|ɡ}} and {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|q}}, which shows a strong correlation between the palatalization of {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} to {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} and the pronunciation of the {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} as a {{IPAblink|ɡ}} as shown in the table below:
{{Gim and qaf pronunciation}}