Although there are obvious differences, it is worth considering the life of Helen Keller in this context.
During her life, Helen Keller demonstrated a grasp of both meaning and understanding despite her severe sensory deprivation. This doesn't prove anything, but it does add human context to the question.
....she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old.
The root question seems to be whether a machine can learn to communicate meaning and understanding over a bidirectional binary channel without previous training. I suspect that such communication can evolve. Some might look around and remark that it already has.