Charlemagne was once quoted as saying “To have a second language is to have a second soul” (Kushner 29). By achieving full understanding of another language you also gain in-depth insight into the culture of foreign individuals. It is well known that in the modern world, English is the dominant language. Yet bilingualism, even multilingualism, is a sure sign of having little knowledge of cultural diversity. As American society becomes more accepting of various cultures in its politics and education, foreign voices also appear more in American literature. The diversity of origins of the latest young writers is vast: in the New Yorker's 2010 “Top 20 Under 40” list of new American writers, more than a third were not born in this country. Their homes span the world, from Latvia to Peru (“Top 20 Under 40”). The rise in popularity of the stories of these bicultural writers can be attributed to changing attitudes in America. Our history and our present are full of testimonies of immigrants. Their perspectives are fresh and talented. Jhumpa Lahiri, a Bengali author, gained prominence after being listed in the 1999 edition of the 'Top 20 Under 40'. In the same year his collection of short stories “Interpreter of Maladies” was published, which sold millions of copies worldwide. Lahiri in particular is well known for, in the words of Aviya Kushner, "translating the immigrant experience for us, often with lyrics...as the English-born daughter of immigrants, she can move easily between both worlds, marveling and assuring us that, yes, everything will be fine” (Kushner 27). In many of his stories, Lahiri focuses on the transition from a foreign culture, in his case Indian, to an American one sheet...... May 2012. .Kakutani, Michiko. "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; A Broken Body in Shining New China." The New York Times. The New York Times, July 4, 2008. Web. May 4, 2012. Kushner, Aviya. "McCultura." Wilson Quartlerly 33.1 (2009): 22-29. JSTOR .Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, December 2009. Web. 2 May 2012. .Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Diseases: Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Ranjini, V. and N. Ramakrishna of immigrants in the Interpreter of Diseases and the namesake of Jhumpa Lahiri." Poetcrit 21.1 (2008): 64-74. Literary Reference Center Plus. Network. May 5, 2012Tyrell, Michael. "Interpreter of Diseases: Review." Harvard Review 17 (1999): 198-199.JSTOR. May 4 2012.