Stook die pottebakkersoond, hoe koud dit ook al is.

Because this is an imperative sentence, giving a command or instruction.

In Afrikaans, imperatives often begin directly with the verb:

• Stook die oond. = Fire up / Stoke the kiln.
• Kom hier. = Come here.
• Wag 'n bietjie. = Wait a moment.

So Stook die pottebakkersoond means something like Fire up the pottery kiln or Stoke the potter’s kiln.

Here stook means to fire, to stoke, or to keep burning/heating.

It is often used for:

• a stove
• a fire
• an oven or kiln

So in this sentence it suggests feeding or heating the kiln so that it stays hot enough to use.

Pottebakkersoond is a compound noun, which is very common in Afrikaans.

It is made up of:

• pottebakker = potter
• oond = oven, kiln

Together:

• pottebakkersoond = potter’s kiln or pottery kiln

In natural English, kiln is usually the best translation here, even though oond by itself often means oven.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So where English might use:

• pottery kiln
• potter’s kiln

Afrikaans commonly makes a single compound:

• pottebakkersoond

This is completely normal and very productive in the language.

That -s- is a linking sound/letter that often appears in compounds.

So:

• pottebakker
  • oond
• becomes pottebakkersoond

You do not always have to think of it as meaning something separate; it often just helps the compound sound natural. English learners often notice this because it can look like a possessive, but in Afrikaans it is simply part of how many compounds are formed.

This is a concessive expression meaning:

• however cold it is
• no matter how cold it is

The pattern is:

• hoe + adjective/adverb + ... + ook al

Examples:

• Hoe moeilik dit ook al is = However difficult it is
• Hoe laat dit ook al is = No matter how late it is
• Hoe koud dit ook al is = However cold it is

So the whole sentence means something like: do it anyway, regardless of the cold.

No. Even though ook often means also and al often means already in other contexts, together in this pattern they form part of an idiomatic structure:

• hoe ... ook al

In this structure, it means:

• however ...
• no matter how ...

So you should learn hoe ... ook al as a set expression, not by translating ook and al separately.

Because this is a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

Compare:

• Main clause: Dit is koud. = It is cold.
• Subordinate clause: ... hoe koud dit ook al is. = ... however cold it is.

So the final is is exactly what you would expect in a subordinate clause.

Dit is the subject of the clause, just like it in English:

• Dit is koud. = It is cold.

So:

• hoe koud dit ook al is literally follows the same idea as however cold it is

Afrikaans uses dit here in the normal way.

The comma separates the main command from the concessive clause:

• Stook die pottebakkersoond,
• hoe koud dit ook al is.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Stook die pottebakkersoond
• added concessive phrase: hoe koud dit ook al is

This is similar to English punctuation in:

• Fire up the kiln, no matter how cold it is.

Yes. Die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans, used for the.

So:

• die pottebakkersoond = the pottery kiln

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, so die works broadly as the.

It is natural, but the pattern hoe ... ook al can sound a little more formal or emphatic than a very plain everyday phrasing.

It is perfectly standard Afrikaans, though, and a learner should definitely recognize it. It expresses the idea of despite the cold in a strong, neat way.

Yes. Depending on context, natural English versions could include:

• Fire up the pottery kiln, no matter how cold it is.
• Stoke the potter’s kiln, however cold it may be.
• Keep the kiln going, no matter how cold it gets.

The exact English wording depends on whether stook is understood as:

• starting the fire,
• feeding the fire,
• or keeping the kiln heated.

But the Afrikaans grammar stays the same.