Ons komprimeer die lêer na gelang van die beskikbare bergingspasie.

In this sentence, ons is the subject, so it means we.

Afrikaans ons can also mean us in other contexts, but here the word order makes it clear that it is the subject:

Ons komprimeer die lêer = We compress the file

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for person or number in the present tense.

So you get:

ek komprimeer = I compress
jy komprimeer = you compress
ons komprimeer = we compress
hulle komprimeer = they compress

This is much simpler than English, where you have I compress but he compresses.

Yes. Komprimeer is a normal Afrikaans verb, especially in technical or computer-related contexts. It is a borrowing related to English compress.

In everyday speech, some speakers might also use a more plain-language expression depending on context, but komprimeer is perfectly natural for things like files, data, and storage.

Yes. In modern Afrikaans, lêer is the normal word for a computer file.

So:

die lêer = the file

Depending on context, lêer can also refer more generally to a file or folder, but in a sentence about compressing and storage space, a computer file is clearly meant.

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

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die lêer = the file
• plural nouns: die lêers = the files

Unlike some other languages, Afrikaans does not have different words like the for different genders. Die works very broadly.

Na gelang van is a fixed expression meaning something like:

• according to
• depending on
• in proportion to
• based on

In this sentence, it means that the compression happens in a way that depends on how much storage space is available.

So na gelang van die beskikbare bergingspasie means depending on the available storage space.

Because na gelang van works as a full expression. The van is part of it.

So you should learn it as a chunk:

na gelang van + noun phrase

Examples: na gelang van die weer = depending on the weather
na gelang van die tyd = depending on the time
na gelang van die beskikbare bergingspasie = depending on the available storage space

If you leave out van, the phrase is incomplete.

Beskikbare is the adjective beskikbaar meaning available, used before a noun.

In Afrikaans, adjectives often take an extra -e when they come before a noun:

beskikbaar = available
die beskikbare bergingspasie = the available storage space

This is called the attributive form of the adjective.

A useful basic pattern is:

die groot huis = the big house
die nuwe lêer = the new file
die beskikbare bergingspasie = the available storage space

Because Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, often forms compound nouns as one word.

Here:

berging = storage
spasie = space
bergingspasie = storage space

English usually writes these as two words, but Afrikaans often joins them into one compound noun. That is very normal.

Yes. This is standard Afrikaans main-clause word order.

The sentence structure is:

Ons — subject
komprimeer — finite verb
die lêer — object
na gelang van die beskikbare bergingspasie — adverbial phrase

So it follows the common Afrikaans pattern where the finite verb comes early in the clause, usually in second position.

You can also move the last phrase to the front for emphasis:

Na gelang van die beskikbare bergingspasie komprimeer ons die lêer.

That is also correct.

The ê is part of the standard spelling. It shows that the vowel is pronounced differently from a plain e, and it also helps distinguish the word clearly in writing.

For a learner, the main thing is:

• keep the accent when writing the word correctly
• learn the pronunciation from native audio if possible

So just remember the spelling as lêer, not leer.

It sounds a bit formal or technical, but it is completely natural in the right context.

In a technical sentence like this, it fits well. In more everyday speech, people might sometimes choose a simpler alternative such as:

afhangend van = depending on
volgens = according to

But those are not always exact replacements. In this sentence, na gelang van nicely expresses that the amount or method of compression is determined by the available storage space.