Sociolinguistics in the West first appeared in the 1960s and was pioneered by linguists such as William Labov in the US and Basil Bernstein in the UK.
Läänes kasutati sotsiolingvistika mõistet esmakordselt 1960ndatel ning seda tegid lingvistid William Labov Ameerikas ja Basil Bernstein Suurbritannias.