Hulle praat oor die stryd.

Here hulle means they.

Afrikaans hulle can also mean them or their, depending on context, because Afrikaans does not change the form the way English does:

• Hulle praat = They speak / are talking
• Ek sien hulle = I see them
• hulle boek = their book

So in this sentence, the verb position makes it clear that hulle is the subject: They are the ones talking.

Praat is the basic verb form meaning speak or talk.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form depending on the subject in the present tense. So you get:

• Ek praat = I speak
• Jy praat = you speak
• Hy praat = he speaks
• Hulle praat = they speak

That is simpler than English, where we say I speak but he speaks.

The order Hulle praat is normal main-clause word order: subject + verb.

It can mean either speak or talk, depending on context.

In this sentence, praat oor usually feels most natural as talk about:

• Hulle praat oor die stryd. = They are talking about the struggle.

Without more context, speak about could also be possible, but talk about is often the most idiomatic English translation.

Oor means about in this sentence.

A very common Afrikaans pattern is:

• praat oor iets = talk about something

Examples:

• Ons praat oor werk. = We are talking about work.
• Sy praat oor haar familie. = She is talking about her family.

Be aware that oor can also mean over in other contexts, so its exact meaning depends on the sentence.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

So:

• die stryd = the struggle

Afrikaans uses die for singular and plural nouns:

• die man = the man
• die mense = the people

Unlike some languages, Afrikaans articles do not change for grammatical gender. Die is the normal definite article.

Stryd means struggle, conflict, or fight, depending on context.

It is related to the idea of contention or battling, and in many contexts struggle is the best translation. It can refer to:

• a literal fight or conflict
• a political struggle
• a personal struggle

It is not the everyday word for a physical punch-up in all cases; often it sounds broader or more abstract than that.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Hulle ≈ HUH-luh
• praat ≈ praht
• oor ≈ ohr
• die ≈ dee
• stryd ≈ something like strate with a different vowel, or strayt said very tightly

A few notes:

• g does not appear here, so there is no harsh guttural sound in this sentence.
• r in Afrikaans can vary by speaker.
• die is pronounced dee, not like English die.

Pronunciation varies somewhat by region and accent, so an audio model is best if you want to sound natural.

It can mean both They talk about the struggle and They are talking about the struggle, depending on context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might choose either:

• a general present
• a present continuous

So Hulle praat oor die stryd can mean:

• They talk about the struggle
  or
• They are talking about the struggle

Context tells you which is meant.

Yes, in this simple main clause, it is very similar to English:

• Hulle = subject
• praat = verb
• oor die stryd = prepositional phrase

So the structure is:

subject + verb + prepositional phrase

That makes this sentence quite straightforward for English speakers.

Usually, oor die stryd sounds more natural if you mean a specific struggle: the struggle.

If you leave out die, it becomes more indefinite or abstract, and in many contexts it may sound less natural. Whether you include the article depends on what you mean:

• oor die stryd = about the struggle
• oor ’n stryd = about a struggle
• oor stryd = about struggle / conflict in general

So in your sentence, die tells us a specific struggle is being referred to.

No, hulle does not normally mean you.

For you, Afrikaans uses forms like:

• jy = you (singular, informal)
• julle = you (plural)

So it is important not to confuse:

• hulle = they / them / their
• julle = you plural / your plural

Those two are very easy for beginners to mix up.