The paper addresses the relationship between communication and culture from the perspective of the acquisition of language and socialization through language. The central claims are that (i) the process of acquiring language is deeply affected by the process of becoming a competent member of a society, and that (ii) at the same time the process of becoming a competent member of society is realized to a large extent through language, through acquiring knowledge of its functions, its social distribution and interpretations in and across socially defined situations, i.e., through exchanges of language in particular social situations.