Die handposisie verander slegs indien die dansvolger draai.

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article, meaning the.

So in this sentence:

• die handposisie = the hand position
• die dansvolger = the dance follower / the follower

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender. There is no separate word for the based on masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns. Die is used very widely for singular and plural definite nouns.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

So:

• hand = hand
• posisie = position
• handposisie = hand position

English usually writes these as two words, but Afrikaans often joins them together. This is very normal in Afrikaans vocabulary.

Other examples:

• dansvloer = dance floor
• klavierles = piano lesson
• toebroodjieblik = lunch box

So handposisie is not unusual at all; it is standard compound-noun spelling.

Yes, verander means change or changes here.

In this sentence:

• Die handposisie verander = The hand position changes

Afrikaans verbs do not change form the way English verbs do in the present tense. English has:

• I change
• he changes

Afrikaans keeps the same basic verb form:

• ek verander
• hy verander
• die handposisie verander

So you do not add an extra ending like English -s in changes.

Slegs means only.

So:

• verander slegs indien ... = changes only if ...

Slegs is correct and fairly formal or neutral in written Afrikaans. In everyday speech, many speakers might also use:

• net = only / just

For example:

• Die handposisie verander net indien die dansvolger draai.

That would mean basically the same thing.

So:

• slegs = a bit more formal or careful
• net = very common in everyday language

Yes, indien means if.

In this sentence:

• indien die dansvolger draai = if the dance follower turns

However, indien is often a little more formal than some other ways of saying if. In more everyday Afrikaans, you may also see or hear as used in this sense:

• Die handposisie verander slegs as die dansvolger draai.

That is also natural in many contexts.

So a useful distinction is:

• indien = if, often more formal or written
• as = if/when, often more conversational depending on context

This happens because indien introduces a subordinate clause.

The clause is:

• indien die dansvolger draai

In Afrikaans subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb often moves toward the end of the clause. That is why you get:

• indien die dansvolger draai
• not normally indien draai die dansvolger

This is a very important word-order pattern in Afrikaans.

Compare:

• Main clause: Die dansvolger draai.
• Subordinate clause: ... indien die dansvolger draai.

With a more obviously movable verb, the pattern is even clearer:

• Main clause: Die volger sal draai.
• Subordinate clause: ... indien die volger sal draai
  In standard Afrikaans, with auxiliaries, the verb material tends to cluster at the end of the subordinate clause.

So the short answer is: draai is at the end because indien triggers subordinate-clause word order.

Dansvolger is another compound noun:

• dans = dance
• volger = follower

So dansvolger means dance follower, usually the person who follows in partner dancing.

The word volger comes from the verb volg = follow.

So related words are:

• volg = follow
• volger = follower
• dansvolger = dance follower

In context, it is a specific technical dance term.

Afrikaans often expresses things more directly than English.

English says:

• The hand position changes only if the dance follower turns.

There is no extra does in the normal statement either, unless you are emphasizing something:

• The hand position does change ...

Afrikaans works similarly here:

• Die handposisie verander ...

Also, Afrikaans does not need a separate present-tense marker like English -s on the verb. The verb itself stays simple.

So the sentence may look shorter or cleaner than an English learner expects, but it is completely normal Afrikaans.

Draai has a broad meaning range, like English turn.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• turn
• rotate
• spin
• go around
• change direction

Here, because the topic is dancing, draai most naturally means something like:

• turns
• spins
• does a turn

So in dance context, die dansvolger draai means the follower performs a turn.

Yes, that is a very natural alternative.

It changes two things:

• slegs → net
• indien → as

So:

• Die handposisie verander slegs indien die dansvolger draai.
• Die handposisie verander net as die dansvolger draai.

Both mean essentially the same thing: The hand position changes only if the dance follower turns.

The first version sounds a bit more formal or instructional. The second sounds more everyday and conversational.

No, not in the present tense the way English does.

In English:

• I turn
• you turn
• she turns

In Afrikaans:

• ek draai
• jy draai
• sy draai

The verb stays draai in all those cases.

The same is true for verander:

• ek verander
• die handposisie verander
• hulle verander

This is one of the nice simplifications of Afrikaans grammar for English speakers.

Yes.

The sentence breaks down like this:

Main clause:

• Die handposisie verander slegs
• The hand position changes only

Subordinate clause:

• indien die dansvolger draai
• if the dance follower turns

So the full meaning is built as:

• The hand position changes only
• if the dance follower turns

That is a very common Afrikaans pattern, especially in instructions, explanations, and formal writing.