Die rugsteunkopie oorleef dataverlies.

backup copy

Breakdown of Die rugsteunkopie oorleef dataverlies.

• die dataverlies: data loss
• oorleef: to survive

Questions & Answers about Die rugsteunkopie oorleef dataverlies.

What does die mean here, and is it the same as English the?

Yes. Die here is the definite article, like English the.

A useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender or number. So die can mean:

• the backup copy
• the backup copies
• the man
• the woman

Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans keeps this simple.

Why is rugsteunkopie written as one long word?

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

So:

• rugsteun = backup
• kopie = copy

Together:

• rugsteunkopie = backup copy

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often leaves such combinations as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them.

What exactly is rugsteunkopie made of?