Die dokter praat kalm met die kind.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die dokter = the doctor
• die kind = the child

Unlike English, Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So you do not have to learn different forms like the, a/an, or gender-based articles.

No. In this sentence, die simply means the.

Afrikaans can use other words for this and that, such as:

• hierdie = this
• daardie = that

So die dokter is the doctor, not this doctor.

Afrikaans does not have a separate -ly ending like English usually does.

In this sentence:

• kalm can mean calm as an adjective
• and also calmly as an adverb, depending on context

So:

• ’n kalm dokter = a calm doctor
• Die dokter praat kalm = The doctor speaks calmly

This is very normal in Afrikaans: the same word often works as both adjective and adverb.

Praat is the verb meaning speak or talk.

In this sentence it is the present tense form:

• Ek praat = I speak / I am speaking
• Die dokter praat = The doctor speaks / is speaking

Afrikaans verbs do not usually change form depending on the subject the way English verbs do. So the same praat is used with ek, jy, hy, ons, hulle, and so on.

No. Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in this way.

With most verbs, the present tense form stays the same regardless of the subject:

• Ek praat
• Jy praat
• Hy praat
• Ons praat
• Hulle praat

So Die dokter praat is correct. Afrikaans does not add -s here the way English does in the doctor speaks.

Met means with.

So:

• met die kind = with the child

The phrase praat met means talk to / talk with someone.

That is important because English often says talk to someone, while Afrikaans commonly uses met in this kind of sentence.

So a very natural translation of praat met die kind is:

• talks to the child
• or talks with the child

depending on context.

Yes. Kind is the standard word for child, but in many contexts it can also correspond to kid in natural English.

Examples:

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

A native English translation might choose child or kid depending on tone, but kind itself is the normal neutral Afrikaans word.

Because here kalm describes how the doctor speaks, not what kind of doctor the doctor is.

Compare:

• Die kalm dokter praat met die kind.
  = The calm doctor talks to the child.
  Here kalm describes the doctor.

• Die dokter praat kalm met die kind.
  = The doctor talks calmly to the child.
  Here kalm describes the manner of speaking.

So its position helps show its function.

That would sound unnatural or at least much less normal.

The usual order is:

• Die dokter praat kalm met die kind.

Afrikaans generally places this kind of adverb close to the verb, so kalm naturally comes after praat.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• dokter ≈ DOCK-ter
• praat ≈ praht with a long aa
• kalm ≈ kah-lm
• kind ≈ a bit like English kind, though the vowel quality may differ by accent

A few useful notes:

• aa in praat is a long vowel.
• r in Afrikaans can vary by speaker and region.
• d at the end of words may sound slightly softer than an English final d.

If you are learning pronunciation, it is best to hear native audio, because Afrikaans spelling is fairly regular but not always obvious from English habits.

It can mean both, depending on context.

• Die dokter praat kalm met die kind can mean
  The doctor speaks calmly to the child
  or
  The doctor is speaking calmly to the child

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either speaks or is speaking. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

You would use ’n for a/an:

• ’n dokter praat kalm met die kind.
  = A doctor talks calmly to the child.

A useful detail:

• die = the
• ’n = a/an

Also, ’n is written with an apostrophe and is normally not stressed in pronunciation.