Die netwerkkabel volg die kabelroete.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article, meaning the. It appears before both definite nouns:

• die netwerkkabel = the network cable
• die kabelroete = the cable route

Unlike English, Afrikaans uses the same article die for singular and plural definite nouns, and it does not change for gender.

Yes, netwerkkabel is correctly written as one word. Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by joining words together.

So:

• netwerk = network
• kabel = cable
• netwerkkabel = network cable

The same happens with kabelroete:

• kabel = cable
• roete = route
• kabelroete = cable route

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes these as separate words, but Afrikaans usually combines them.

The double k appears because the compound is made from netwerk + kabel.

When these are joined:

• netwerk
  • kabel → netwerkkabel

So the final k of netwerk and the initial k of kabel both remain. Afrikaans generally keeps both consonants in compounds like this.

Volg means follows or follow, depending on the context.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form the way English verbs do. So you do not get different forms like follow / follows in the present tense.

Examples:

• Ek volg = I follow
• Jy volg = you follow
• Die netwerkkabel volg = the network cable follows

So volg stays the same.

Yes, in this sentence the word order is straightforward and very similar to English:

• Die netwerkkabel = subject
• volg = verb
• die kabelroete = object

So it follows the basic Subject–Verb–Object pattern:

Die netwerkkabel volg die kabelroete.
= The network cable follows the cable route.

This kind of simple main clause is usually easy for English speakers.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Die ≈ dee
• netwerkkabel ≈ NET-vairk-kah-bul
• volg ≈ folkh or folg with a harder final sound
• die ≈ dee
• kabelroete ≈ KAH-bul-roo-tuh

A few helpful notes:

• ie in Afrikaans is usually pronounced like ee in see
• g is often a throat sound, not a soft English g
• oe is usually like oo in boot

Exact pronunciation can vary a bit by accent, but those approximations are a good start.

Afrikaans grammar is simpler than English in many ways. In the present tense, Afrikaans does not usually use a separate helping word like does in ordinary positive statements, and the verb does not take an -s ending for he/she/it.

English:

• The network cable follows the cable route.

Afrikaans:

• Die netwerkkabel volg die kabelroete.

So Afrikaans expresses the same idea with fewer verb changes.

In many contexts, yes. Simple present in Afrikaans can often cover meanings that English splits into simple present and present continuous, depending on context.

So volg can sometimes be understood as:

• follows
• is following

If you really need to emphasize an ongoing action, Afrikaans has ways to do that, but the basic sentence often leaves it to context.

You would usually replace die with ’n for a/an:

’n Netwerkkabel volg ’n kabelroete.

A few useful notes:

• ’n is the indefinite article in Afrikaans
• it is written with a small letter, even at the beginning of a sentence in normal spelling conventions; the following word is capitalized instead:
  • ’n Netwerkkabel ...

No, not in the way German or French do. Afrikaans does not assign grammatical gender to nouns in the article system.

That is why you just use die for the, regardless of whether the noun would be masculine, feminine, or neuter in another language.

So you do not need to memorize noun genders for this sentence:

• die netwerkkabel
• die kabelroete

That is one of the things many learners find easier in Afrikaans.

Yes. Afrikaans is very comfortable with compound nouns, and technical language often uses them.

From the words in this sentence, you can build related compounds such as:

• netwerkroete = network route
• kabelbaan = cable line / cableway, depending on context
• roetebeplanning = route planning

The exact meaning depends on context, but the general idea is very productive: Afrikaans often joins nouns together to create precise terms.