This paper argues that the text-type “patent” is eminently suitable for teaching
specialized translation at MA level. Translating a patent is a challenge at two levels,
given that its technical content is expressed by means of a textual and linguistic
framework which in fact is of a legal nature. Consequently, the translation process
confronts the translator with no easy task because it must necessarily involve a different
approach at the theoretical and practical levels, accounting for the morphosyntactic,
lexical and textual peculiarities of both the technical and legal components. Nevertheless
a number of features – such as rigid layout rules, recurrent syntactic and lexical
structures and a marked tendency towards redundancy and monosemy –
counterbalance the aforesaid complexity. That of patents is therefore a somewhat unique
text type, which is particularly suitable for specialized translation classes at MA level for
at least two reasons. Firstly, students are forced to adopt different translation strategies
to cope with the patent’s both technical and legal features. Secondly, translating a patent
involves an extensive use of CAT tools. This makes such a text type particularly suitable
for introducing students to professional translation, which is the ultimate goal of our
teaching activity.
