Solank as die tent droog bly, bly die slaapsak warm.

Solank as introduces a condition and means as long as.

So in this sentence, it sets up the idea:

• if this condition continues to be true...
• then this result continues to be true

It is a very common way to express an ongoing condition in Afrikaans.

Yes, you will often hear both:

• solank as
• solank

Both can mean as long as.

So these are both possible:

• Solank as die tent droog bly, bly die slaapsak warm.
• Solank die tent droog bly, bly die slaapsak warm.

The version with as is perfectly normal; the shorter version is also very common in everyday Afrikaans.

Because solank as starts a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

So:

• main clause order: subject + verb + rest
• subordinate clause order: subject + rest + verb

That is why you get:

• Solank as die tent droog bly

and not the more English-like order die tent bly droog inside that clause.

Compare:

• Main clause: Die tent bly droog.
• After solank as: ... die tent droog bly

Because the sentence has two separate clauses, and each clause has its own verb.

1. die tent droog bly = the tent remains dry
2. bly die slaapsak warm = the sleeping bag remains warm

The same verb appears in both clauses because the same idea is being expressed twice: one thing stays a certain way, and another thing stays a certain way.

Here bly means remain, stay, or keep being.

In Afrikaans, bly can have different meanings depending on context, for example:

• Ek bly in Kaapstad. = I live in Cape Town.
• Die tent bly droog. = The tent stays dry.

In your sentence, it clearly means remain/stay, not live.

Because they are being used predicatively: they come after a verb like bly and describe the subject.

Compare:

• die droë tent = the dry tent
• die tent bly droog = the tent stays dry

And:

• die warm slaapsak = the warm sleeping bag
• die slaapsak bly warm = the sleeping bag stays warm

In Afrikaans, adjectives often look different when they come before a noun than when they come after a verb. After bly, you normally use the basic form:

• droog
• warm

No. Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for both singular and plural nouns.

So:

• die tent = the tent
• die slaapsak = the sleeping bag
• die tente = the tents

Unlike some other languages, Afrikaans does not have different forms of the based on gender or case.

Yes. Slaapsak is a compound noun:

• slaap = sleep
• sak = bag

So literally it is a sleep-bag, which matches English sleeping bag.

Afrikaans uses compound nouns very often, just like Dutch and German. They are usually written as one word.

Other examples:

• toebroodjieblik = lunch box
• handsak = handbag
• slaapkamer = bedroom

Because the sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• Solank as die tent droog bly, ...

When a sentence in Afrikaans begins with something other than the subject, the finite verb of the main clause usually comes immediately after that first element. This is the common verb-second pattern.

So after the opening clause, the main clause becomes:

• bly die slaapsak warm

rather than:

• die slaapsak bly warm

If the main clause stood alone, it would normally be:

• Die slaapsak bly warm.

Yes, it is normal and expected to put a comma after the opening subordinate clause.

So:

• Solank as die tent droog bly, bly die slaapsak warm.

The comma helps mark the boundary between:

1. the condition
2. the main statement

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like As long as the tent stays dry, the sleeping bag stays warm.

You could, but it would not mean exactly the same thing.

• solank as / solank = as long as
• as = often if or when

So:

• Solank as die tent droog bly... emphasizes a continuing condition.
• As die tent droog bly... can sound more like if the tent stays dry...

Both may work in context, but solank as is the clearer choice when you specifically mean as long as.

Not if you keep the same structure with solank as.

These are correct:

• Die tent bly droog.
• Solank as die tent droog bly, bly die slaapsak warm.

But this would be ungrammatical in standard Afrikaans:

• Solank as die tent bly droog...

That is because the subordinate clause requires the verb to go to the end.

Bly is pronounced roughly like English blay, but with the Afrikaans y/ei sound, which is a little different from standard English vowels.

A rough guide:

• bly ≈ blay
• droog ≈ a long drohkh sound
• warm is close to English varm, since Afrikaans w sounds like English v

Natural rhythm would often stress the key content words:

• Solank as die tent droog bly, bly die slaapsak warm.

The two bly words are both important because they carry the idea of remaining/staying.