Eers nadat die kansellasie bevestig is, verwerk die lugdiens die aanspraak.

In this sentence, eers nadat means only after.

• nadat = after
• eers adds the idea of not before then / only then

So:

• Nadat die kansellasie bevestig is ... = After the cancellation has been confirmed ...
• Eers nadat die kansellasie bevestig is ... = Only after the cancellation has been confirmed ...

That little word eers is important because it makes the timing more restrictive.

This is because Afrikaans follows a verb-second pattern in main clauses.

When a different element comes first in the sentence, the finite verb usually comes next. Here, the sentence begins with the clause:

Eers nadat die kansellasie bevestig is

After that opening element, the main clause starts, and the finite verb verwerk comes immediately after it:

• Eers nadat ... , verwerk die lugdiens die aanspraak.

If you started directly with the subject, you would say:

• Die lugdiens verwerk die aanspraak eers nadat die kansellasie bevestig is.

Both are grammatical, but the original sentence puts emphasis on the timing.

Because this part is a subordinate clause, introduced by nadat.

In Afrikaans subordinate clauses, the verb elements usually move toward the end. So instead of the English-like order is confirmed, Afrikaans gives:

• ... die kansellasie bevestig is

That is very normal Afrikaans word order.

Compare:

• Main-clause style: Die kansellasie is bevestig.
• Subordinate-clause style: ... nadat die kansellasie bevestig is

So the word order changes because of nadat.

Yes. It is a passive construction.

• bevestig = confirmed
• is = is/has been as part of the passive here

So die kansellasie bevestig is means the cancellation has been confirmed or is confirmed, depending on context.

The important point is that the cancellation is receiving the action, not doing it.

If you wanted an active version, it would be something like:

• ... nadat iemand die kansellasie bevestig het
  = ... after someone has confirmed the cancellation

Here aanspraak means claim.

In this context, it likely refers to a travel, compensation, or refund claim being processed by the airline.

A learner should note that aanspraak is a noun. It is not the verb to claim.

So:

• die aanspraak = the claim

Depending on context, Afrikaans can also use other words for different kinds of claims, but aanspraak is a common formal word for a claim or entitlement claim.

Lugdiens means airline.

It is made up of:

• lug = air
• diens = service

So it is literally something like air service, but the natural English translation here is airline.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

In this sentence you have:

• die kansellasie = the cancellation
• die lugdiens = the airline
• die aanspraak = the claim

Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender the way some other languages do. Die is used very broadly.

Not exactly.

• nadat = after
• sodra = as soon as
• wanneer = when

So these are related, but not the same.

Examples:

• Eers nadat die kansellasie bevestig is ...
  = Only after the cancellation has been confirmed ...

• Sodra die kansellasie bevestig is ...
  = As soon as the cancellation has been confirmed ...

The second version sounds more immediate. The original simply says the processing happens only after confirmation, not necessarily immediately after.

No. Eers can mean different things depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• first
• only
• not until

In this sentence, it does not mean first in a sequence. It means only or not until.

So:

• Eers nadat ... = Only after ... / Not until after ...

This is a very common use of eers in Afrikaans.

Yes. If you want a more literal, formal English rendering, you could say:

• Only after the cancellation has been confirmed does the airline process the claim.

That mirrors the emphasis and word order of the Afrikaans quite closely.

A more natural everyday English version might be:

• The airline processes the claim only after the cancellation has been confirmed.

So the Afrikaans structure is often best matched by formal English inversion, but normal English can also express the same idea in a simpler way.

A more straightforward version would be:

Die lugdiens verwerk die aanspraak eers nadat die kansellasie bevestig is.

This keeps the subject first:

• Die lugdiens = the airline
• verwerk = processes
• die aanspraak = the claim
• eers nadat ... = only after ...

The original sentence front-loads the time condition for emphasis. The rewritten version is often easier for learners to follow.

A rough guide for English speakers:

• Eers ≈ ayrs
• nadat ≈ nah-daht
• kansellasie ≈ kan-seh-LAH-see
• bevestig ≈ buh-FES-təkh or buh-FES-tig depending on accent
• verwerk ≈ fer-VAREK / fer-WERK
• lugdiens ≈ lukh-deens
• aanspraak ≈ AHN-sprahk

A few notes:

• g in Afrikaans is often a rough throaty sound, not an English g.
• aa is usually a long a sound.
• Stress often falls later in the word than English speakers expect.

Here verwerk is the finite verb of the main clause, meaning processes.

So in:

• verwerk die lugdiens die aanspraak

the structure is:

• verwerk = verb
• die lugdiens = subject
• die aanspraak = object

Because the sentence begins with the time clause, the verb comes before the subject in the main clause. That can feel unusual to English speakers, but it is normal in Afrikaans.