Die kind bly stil, en die hele kamer is vol stilte.

Here bly means remain or stay.

So Die kind bly stil means the child stays quiet or remains silent.

A useful thing to remember is that bly can have different meanings depending on context:

• bly = remain/stay in sentences like this
• bly can also mean be happy/glad in other contexts

In this sentence, it clearly means remain because it is followed by stil.

Because they are two different kinds of words:

• stil = an adjective meaning quiet or silent
• stilte = a noun meaning silence

So:

• Die kind bly stil = The child remains quiet
• die hele kamer is vol stilte = the whole room is full of silence

English does something similar:

• quiet = adjective
• silence = noun

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for the in almost all cases.

Unlike some other languages:

• it does not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns
• it is used for both singular and plural nouns

So:

• die kind = the child
• die kamer = the room
• die kinders = the children

That makes Afrikaans much simpler than languages with grammatical gender.

Heel means whole or entire, but when it comes before a noun, Afrikaans usually uses the attributive form hele.

So:

• heel = whole, entire
• die hele kamer = the whole room

This is very common:

• die hele dag = the whole day
• die hele week = the whole week
• die hele tyd = the whole time

So hele is just the form you normally use before the noun here.

In Afrikaans, vol usually works directly with a noun:

• vol water = full of water
• vol mense = full of people
• vol vreugde = full of joy
• vol stilte = full of silence

So you normally do not need an extra van after vol.

This is one of those patterns that English speakers just need to get used to:

• English: full of silence
• Afrikaans: vol stilte

Because stilte here is being used in a general, uncountable sense: silence as a quality or atmosphere.

After vol, Afrikaans often uses a noun without an article when speaking generally:

• vol water
• vol stof
• vol liefde
• vol stilte

If you said vol die stilte, it would sound much more specific, as if you meant full of the silence, which is unusual in this context.

Yes. This is normal main-clause word order.

Afrikaans main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern:

• first element: die hele kamer
• finite verb: is
• rest of the sentence: vol stilte

So:

• Die hele kamer is vol stilte

That is completely standard.

The first clause is also standard:

• Die kind bly stil

Here bly is the finite verb, and it comes in the expected main-clause position.

The comma separates two full main clauses:

• Die kind bly stil
• die hele kamer is vol stilte

Each part could stand on its own as a sentence, so the comma helps show the pause and structure clearly.

In Afrikaans, commas are often used before en when joining longer or clearly separate clauses. It helps readability, especially when each side has its own subject and verb.

Yes, kind means child, and depending on tone and context, it can correspond to English kid as well.

It is a very common everyday word:

• ’n kind = a child
• die kind = the child
• kinders = children

So in a natural translation, you might think of:

• The child remains quiet or
• The kid stays quiet

Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs.

For most verbs in the present tense, the verb form does not change according to the subject:

• Ek bly
• Jy bly
• Die kind bly
• Ons bly

That means you do not have to learn separate forms like English stay/stays.

The verb is is also used very broadly:

• Ek is
• Jy is
• Hy is
• Ons is
• Hulle is

So Afrikaans has much less verb agreement than English.

Sometimes yes, depending on context, but here it means quiet/silent, not motionless.

Afrikaans stil can cover ideas like:

• quiet
• silent
• still

But in Die kind bly stil, the meaning is normally that the child stays quiet. The second clause, die hele kamer is vol stilte, strongly supports that interpretation because stilte means silence.

So the two clauses reinforce each other:

• the child is quiet
• the room is full of silence

Yes, you could, but it would feel simpler and less expressive.

• Die kamer is stil = The room is quiet
• die hele kamer is vol stilte = the whole room is full of silence

The sentence with vol stilte is more vivid and literary. It creates a stronger atmosphere. So both are possible, but the original sounds more descriptive and dramatic.