Die enkripsie beskerm die lêer, maar dit voorkom nie dataverlies nie.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans, used for both the encryption and the file.

Unlike some languages, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender or case. So:

• die enkripsie = the encryption
• die lêer = the file

It is the same word in both places.

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender like German or Dutch.

Nouns such as enkripsie and lêer are not grammatically masculine, feminine, or neuter in the way learners of some European languages may expect. That is why the article stays die, and the pronoun dit can refer back to things in a general way.

Dit means it.

Here it refers back to die enkripsie. So the sentence is structured like:

• The encryption protects the file
• but it does not prevent data loss

Afrikaans often repeats the subject with a pronoun in the second clause, just as English does.

This is one of the most important features of Afrikaans grammar.

Afrikaans usually uses a double negative frame:

• the first nie goes after the verb phrase or the part being negated
• the second nie usually comes near the end of the clause

So:

• dit voorkom nie dataverlies nie = it does not prevent data loss

You can think of it as a negation pair that wraps around part of the clause.

More examples:

• Ek verstaan nie Afrikaans nie.
• Sy werk nie vandag nie.

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

So:

• data
  • verlies = dataverlies

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans often joins them together.

Other examples:

• huisdeur = house door / front door
• rekenaarprogram = computer program

Because in a simple clause like this, the first nie often comes after the finite verb when what follows is the object or the rest of the predicate.

So:

• dit voorkom nie dataverlies nie

This is the normal pattern for it does not prevent data loss.

A useful learner shortcut is:

• verb first
• then the first nie
• then the object or remaining information
• then the final nie

They express two different ideas:

• beskerm = protect
• voorkom = prevent

So the sentence contrasts these meanings:

• encryption protects the file
• but it does not prevent data loss

That distinction is important. Something can protect a file from unauthorized access without preventing the file from being lost, deleted, or corrupted.

Because maar is a coordinating conjunction, like but in English.

It joins two main clauses, and the second clause keeps normal main-clause word order:

• Die enkripsie beskerm die lêer, maar dit voorkom nie dataverlies nie.

So you get:

• maar dit voorkom ... not
• maar voorkom dit ...

Inversion is more typical after certain adverbs or subordinating structures, not after maar.

The accent mark in lêer helps show the pronunciation and distinguish the vowel quality.

Lêer means file, and the ê indicates a different vowel sound from plain e.

For learners, the most useful thing is simply to recognize that:

• lêer is the standard spelling for file
• the accent is part of the normal written word

They only look a bit alike by spelling. In Afrikaans, lêer means file, especially in a computer or document sense.

So in this sentence:

• die lêer = the file

It does not mean layer here.

In this sentence, no article is needed because dataverlies is being used in a general, uncountable sense: data loss.

So:

• dit voorkom nie dataverlies nie = it does not prevent data loss

If you added die, it would sound more like a specific, previously identified instance of data loss, which is not the usual meaning here.

Yes. Both verbs are in the present tense:

• beskerm = protects / is protecting
• voorkom = prevents / does prevent

Afrikaans present tense is often simple in form, without the kind of verb ending changes English has for protects versus protect.

Yes, that is a very good way to read it.

The structure is:

• Die enkripsie beskerm die lêer
• maar dit voorkom nie dataverlies nie

So the sentence makes a contrast:

1. what encryption does do
2. what it does not do

That makes maar especially important, because it signals the contrast very clearly.

A rough learner-friendly guide would be:

duh en-KRIP-see buh-SKERM duh LAY-er, mar dit for-KOM nee DAH-tuh-vuh-LEES nee

This is only approximate, but it can help you get started. The main things to notice are:

• enkripsie has stress around -krip-
• beskerm has stress on the second syllable
• lêer has the marked vowel ê
• both nie words are clearly pronounced

If you want, I can also break the sentence down word by word with pronunciation and grammar labels.