Why do some Turkish words have the ''ğ'' letter, which isn't even pronounced?

The letter ''ğ'' is a unique letter in the Turkish language and is called a soft g. Although it does not have a sound on its own, it affects the sound of the preceding vowel, making it longer. The use of ''ğ'' in Turkish is a result of the historical evolution of the language. In the Middle Ages, the Turkish language was written using the Arabic alphabet, which did not have a distinct letter for the soft g sound. However, in the 1920s, the Turkish language underwent a language reform, which aimed to simplify the language and make it more accessible to the general public. As part of the reform, the Turkish alphabet was changed from the Arabic script to the Latin alphabet, and the letter ''ğ'' was added to represent the soft g sound.

Today, the letter ''ğ'' is an important part of the Turkish language, and it appears in many words. Although it is not pronounced, it affects the pronunciation of the word by lengthening the preceding vowel. For example, the word ''ağaç'' (meaning tree) is pronounced with a long ''a'' sound, due to the presence of the ''ğ'' letter.