Die noodhulpkursus begin vandag.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

So noodhulpkursus breaks down as:

• nood = emergency
• hulp = help/aid
• kursus = course

Together, they mean first-aid course or literally emergency-help course.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as separate words, but Afrikaans usually joins them:

• huiswerk = homework
• skooltas = school bag
• nooduitgang = emergency exit

So noodhulpkursus being one word is exactly what you should expect.

Die is the definite article, so here it means the.

A useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die kursus = the course
• plural nouns: die kursusse = the courses

It does not change for gender, and Afrikaans does not have separate words like the for masculine/feminine/neuter nouns.

So:

• die noodhulpkursus = the first-aid course

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form in the present tense the way English verbs do.

In English, you say:

• I begin
• you begin
• he/she begins

In Afrikaans, the verb usually stays the same:

• Ek begin
• Jy begin
• Hy begin
• Die kursus begin

So begin stays begin no matter who or what the subject is. This is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar.

This sentence follows the normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

Subject + Verb + Time

So:

• Die noodhulpkursus = subject
• begin = verb
• vandag = time expression

That gives:

Die noodhulpkursus begin vandag.

This is very similar to normal English word order:

• The first-aid course begins today.

Yes. Vandag is flexible, although the most neutral version here is:

Die noodhulpkursus begin vandag.

You could also say:

• Vandag begin die noodhulpkursus.

That version puts more emphasis on today. Because Afrikaans uses verb-second word order in main clauses, when vandag comes first, the verb begin must come next.

So:

• neutral: Die noodhulpkursus begin vandag.
• more emphasis on time: Vandag begin die noodhulpkursus.

No. That is another way Afrikaans is simpler than some related languages.

Die does not change for:

• masculine/feminine/neuter gender
• nominative/accusative/dative-type case distinctions

So English speakers usually find this easy. You just learn die as the normal definite article.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

NOHT-hulp-KUR-sus

A few helpful notes:

• nood sounds roughly like note without the final strong English t sound
• hulp has the u sound heard in Afrikaans u, which does not match English perfectly
• kursus has stress on the first syllable of kur

If you want to say it in chunks, that often helps:

• nood + hulp + kursus

Afrikaans compound words can look long, but they are often easier to pronounce when you break them into parts.

In Afrikaans, nouns are not capitalized the way they are in German.

So you write:

• Die noodhulpkursus begin vandag.

not with capitals on every noun.

Only the first word of the sentence is capitalized here, unless a proper noun appears.

For example:

• Die kursus begin in Kaapstad.

Here Kaapstad is capitalized because it is a place name.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• die noodhulpkursus = the first-aid course
• 'n noodhulpkursus = a first-aid course

So if you are talking about a specific course already known in the context, die is right.

If you are introducing it for the first time or speaking more generally, 'n may be better:

• 'n Noodhulpkursus begin vandag. = A first-aid course starts today.

Notice that 'n is written with an apostrophe and is normally not stressed in speech.

Yes. In this sentence, vandag is a time adverb meaning today.

It tells you when the action happens:

• begin vandag = starts today

Afrikaans often uses time words in the same way English does:

• nou = now
• môre = tomorrow
• gister = yesterday
• vandag = today

So vandag is a very common and useful word to learn early.

Yes. Begin is the normal verb for begin/start in Afrikaans.

Examples:

• Die les begin nou. = The lesson begins now.
• Ek begin werk. = I start working.
• Wanneer begin dit? = When does it begin?

So the form in your sentence is completely standard and very widely used.