The foreign language press in the United States serves three functions: (1) it provides a medium of communication for immigrant groups whose native language is not English; (2) it serves to publish news of the home country which would otherwise be unavailable; and (3) it aids the process of assimilation by offering information and advice on lifestyles in the new country. The spacial-temporal dimensions of foreign language publishing in the United States are closely associated with immigrant history and the settlement geographies of ethnic Americans. In New York, newspapers are published in 20 languages, in California, 12, and in Illinois, 10. The American South and the Great Plains, Northern Rockies, and Great Basin regions, on the other hand, do not support a single foreign language newspaper. The number of Romance (except for Spanish), Germanic, and Slavic language publications is declining. The future of the established newspapers and periodicals would be brighter, however, if they could become ethnic presses serving the needs of the third-, fourth-, and fifth-generation immigrants who neither know the mother tongue nor care about events in the "old country," but who do take pride in their ethnic heritage. (CMG)