About Root and Stem Translations
I chose the words root and stem for my company name because I felt they suitably expressed the essence of my life and work. Let me explain why.
First of all, according to Collins English Dictionary,
“The roots of a plant are the parts of it that grow under the ground”.
And a stem is “… the thin, upright part on which the flowers and leaves grow”.
We know that, for them to thrive and support healthy stem growth, plants need to develop strong roots. And for roots and stems to grow healthy, constant nutrition is required.
Figuratively speaking, we could say that roots are the foundations for personal growth and they form the base for acquiring skills and knowledge. And, like roots and stems, these skills and knowledge also develop through constant nutrition, through life learning and experience.
And you may ask yourself, ‘but what does that have to do with translation?’
Well, developing the art and skill of translation requires growth, life learning and experience.
Secondly, in grammar, the terms root and stem are used to refer to parts of words. Collins defines them as follows:
“The root of a word is the part that contains its meaning and to which other parts can be added”.
A stem is “the form of a word that remains after removal of all inflectional affixes; the root of a word…”.
Linguistically speaking, without roots and stems, words would have no meaning on their own. Without meaning, communication would not be possible. Communication is the aim of every translation. To avoid miscommunication, a translation needs to, among other things, convey the correct meaning. And that is my purpose as a translator, providing accurate meaning and effective communication.
Finally, also according to Collins,
A root is “the essential, fundamental, or primary part or nature of something”.
At a more personal and philosophical level, I would just add that words give meaning to my life and are an essential part of it.
These are the reasons why I named my company Root and Stem Translations.