Ons hoor nie roepe nie, laat staan nog voëlgesang.

Afrikaans usually uses double negation.

So:

• Ons hoor roepe = We hear calls
• Ons hoor nie roepe nie = We do not hear calls

A simple way to think of it is:

• the first nie introduces the negation
• the second nie closes it off

This is one of the most noticeable features of Afrikaans grammar, and English speakers often need time to get used to it.

In a basic main clause, the first nie usually comes after the finite verb and before the part of the sentence being negated, while the second nie comes near the end of the clause.

Here the structure is:

• Ons = subject
• hoor = finite verb
• nie = first negation marker
• roepe = object
• nie = closing negation marker

So Ons hoor nie roepe nie is the normal Afrikaans pattern for We do not hear calls.

Roepe is the plural of roep, meaning call or cry.

Depending on context, it can suggest things like:

• calls
• cries
• shouts
• calling sounds

In this sentence, it sounds a bit literary or descriptive, referring to sounds being absent in the surroundings.

Afrikaans plurals are formed in different ways, and one common pattern is adding -e.

So:

• roep → roepe

This is normal morphology in Afrikaans. English speakers sometimes expect a single plural ending like English -s, but Afrikaans has several plural patterns.

Laat staan nog is an idiomatic expression meaning something like:

• let alone
• much less
• never mind

So the sentence means:

• We do not hear calls, let alone birdsong.

It introduces something even less likely, more specific, or more striking.

Not very naturally.

If you translate the parts literally, you get something like:

• laat staan = let stand / leave aside
• nog = still / yet / even

But together, laat staan nog functions as a fixed expression. In real English, the natural translation is usually:

• let alone
• much less

So it is better to learn it as a chunk rather than build the meaning from each word separately.

Because laat staan nog can introduce a shortened second element that depends on the first clause.

In English we do the same:

• We do not hear calls, let alone birdsong.

We do not repeat we hear in the second part, because it is understood.

In full logic, it is something like:

• We do not hear calls, let alone hear birdsong.

Afrikaans allows the same kind of ellipsis.

Voëlgesang is a compound noun:

• voël = bird
• gesang = song, singing

So voëlgesang means birdsong.

Afrikaans makes a lot of compounds like this, just as English does.

The dots are a diaeresis and show that the vowels are pronounced separately.

So voël is not pronounced as one smooth vowel sound. The marking helps show that the word has two vowel sounds in sequence.

This is common in Afrikaans spelling for some words with adjacent vowels.

Because hoor means hear, while luister means listen.

That is the same distinction English makes:

• hear = perceive sound
• listen = actively pay attention to sound

In this sentence, the idea is that no sound is being heard at all, so hoor is the right verb.

Yes, it sounds somewhat literary, descriptive, or elevated, especially because of words like:

• roepe
• voëlgesang
• laat staan nog

A more everyday sentence might be simpler, but this version creates a quiet, atmospheric effect.

The comma separates the main statement from the following idiomatic extension:

• Ons hoor nie roepe nie = main clause
• laat staan nog voëlgesang = added contrast/intensification

This is similar to how English often uses a comma before let alone.

Yes, that would be possible.

Adding eens gives the sense of:

• not even

So:

• Ons hoor nie eens roepe nie, laat staan nog voëlgesang = We do not even hear calls, let alone birdsong.

That version puts even more emphasis on the absence of sound.

Yes—three useful takeaways:

1. Double negation

   • nie ... nie is normal Afrikaans grammar.

2. Idiomatic expression

   • Learn laat staan nog as a fixed phrase meaning let alone or much less.

3. Compounds

   • Afrikaans often joins nouns together, as in voëlgesang.

If you remember those three points, this sentence becomes much easier to understand and reuse.