Enigmatic signifiers are messages received in early infancy that the fledgling human subject is simply unable to comprehend. These messages, which can be verbal, visual, tactile, or even olfactory, constitute the prototype for all future experiences of bewilderment. While the infant may understand that they are addressed to her, and that they demand a response of some kind, their content is wholly unintelligible. To make matters worse, these communications are permeated with meanings of which even their senders are unaware; they are unconscious on the part of both parties. They also lack originals; according to Laplanche, every enigmatic signifier is a copy of an endless series of copies that has been passed down through the generations as in a game of telephone. For Laplanche, these signs do not disappear with mature understanding but rather remain at the heart of human interaction. The originary scenario of the enigmatic signifier is retriggered throughout the subject’s life whenever he or she is sent a mixed message, hailed by an ambiguous address, or confronted with a scenario that seems to invite and yet resist decoding.

King, Homay: ‘Lost in Translation: Orientalism, Cinema, and the Enigmatic Signifier’ Duke University Press (23 Sep 2010). pp3-4