The genetic code is a language in the normal sense of the term, since it
assigns meaning to arbitrary symbols. Language is obviously a
non-material category of reality; the symbolic information is distinct
from matter and energy. Therefore, life is a manifestation of
non-material reality.
The genetic code is not a true code; it is more of a cypher. DNA is a
sequence of four different bases (denoted A, C, G, and T) along a
backbone. When DNA gets translated to protein, triplets of bases
(codons) get converted sequentially to the amino acids that make up the
protein, with some codons acting as a "stop" marker. The mapping from
codon to amino acid is arbitrary (not completely arbitrary, but close
enough for purposes of argument). However, that one mapping step --
from 64 possible codons to 20 amino acids and a stop signal -- is the
only arbitrariness in the genetic code. The protein itself is a
physical object whose function is determined by its physical
properties.
Furthermore, DNA gets used for more than making proteins. Much DNA is
transcribed directly to functional RNA. Other DNA acts to regulate
genetic processes. The physical properties of the DNA and RNA, not any
arbitrary meanings, determine how they act.
An essential property of language is that any word can refer to any
object. That is not true in genetics. The genetic code which maps
codons to proteins could be changed, but doing so would change the
meaning of all sequences that code for proteins, and it
could not
create arbitrary new meanings for all DNA sequences.
Genetics is not
true language.
The word frequencies of all natural languages follow a power law
(Zipf's Law). DNA does not follow this pattern (Tsonis et al. 1997).
Language, although symbolic, is still material. For a word to have
meaning, the link between the word and its meaning has to be recorded
somewhere, usually in people's brains, books, and/or computer memories.
Without this material manifestation, language cannot work.
References:
Tsonis, A. A., J. B. Elsner and P. A. Tsonis, 1997. Is DNA a language?
Journal of Theoretical Biology 184: 25-29.