Starting with Salman Rushdie's statement that even though something is always lost in translation, something can also be gained, Cutter examines the trope of translation in twenty English-language novels and autobiographies by contemporary African American, Asian American, Native American, and Mexican American writers. She argues that these works advocate a politics of language diversity--a literary and social agenda that validates the multiplicity of ethnic cultures and tongues in the United States. She concludes with an anlysis of contemporary debates over language policy, such as English-only legislation, Ebonics, and bilingualism.