Professional Practice in Training for the Translation of Specialized Texts: the Case of the Translation of Socioeconomic Texts

Abstract

Translating socioeconomic texts poses a challenge for translator training since it encompasses a wide range of text types and competences to be developed. Its high degree of specialization makes the teaching and learning of the subject a challenge for both learners and teachers within the frame of the various curricula of university degrees in Spain. This work deals with the curriculum design of a specialized module in socioeconomic translation within the Degree in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Malaga. From the overall educational context provided in the Degree, the description of a practical training specially oriented towards the professional practice is addressed. Given the time constraints imposed by the curriculum, it is advisable to implement in the teaching and learning of this subject a professional approach for one main reason: the motivation of students is enhanced by a field of specialization that in principle is regarded as hostile in contents. With a proper contextualization of the translator training activities and an adequate gradation of their difficulties, the student places the translating task within the translation market towards which (s)he is finally addressed at later stages of the training.Teaching suggestions are provided in this work so that they can be modified for their use in similar contexts.