Why did some people consider ASL not an official language?

Answer 1

In the past; there was a heavy debate in the linguistic community about spoken (audible) languages being the only proper form of official languages. Ultimately, linguists and other scholars determined that a language does not have to be audible for it to be a genuine form of extensive communication. Manual languages were often thought of as either idiotic, or mimicry, or miming. Yes, I know ASL uses miming, but so do people in the hearing world, as part of their "body-language". When was the last time you gave a "rock on" symbol or a "peace" sign or for the worse for wear, flipped someone off? For a language to be official, it has to have its own rules of grammar and syntax; and it has to be relatively thorough. Fictional languages may also be considered official, if there are people who speak it or write it in large scale numbers (Klingon e.g.)

Answer 2

Some people considered American Sign Language (ASL) not an official language in the past because it was not widely recognized or respected as a distinct language with its own grammar and syntax. Additionally, the deaf community faced discrimination and marginalization, leading to a lack of acknowledgment of ASL as a legitimate language. However, this perspective is changing as ASL gains more recognition and acceptance as a legitimate language.