Currently reading “Russian with a Dictionary” by Irina Levontina.
It turns out that the modern meaning of “ambitious” when applied to a person has shifted quite significantly from its previous connotations.
The word “ambition” both in the USSR and earlier was predominantly associated with an inflated self-esteem and baseless claims. This interpretation was also reflected in dictionaries: ambition – “heightened self-love, excessive conceit.”
Interestingly, in the Russian language, nearly all words that denote a high self-regard by a person are negatively connoted: pretension, aplomb, haughtiness, arrogance, airs, self-assurance, overconfidence. The list goes on. This reflects the deep-rooted notion in Russian culture that a proud person ought to be humble. And yet, we understand that sometimes a person soberly assesses their capabilities, is ready to tackle a task, and speaks of it without any affectation, and this is good. However, it is impossible to use the word overconfidence even with a clarification that it is meant in a good sense in such a case.
A word needs to be torn apart and reassembled in a different order – confidence in oneself. Otherwise, the negative connotation remains inescapable.
When the word ambition was borrowed into the Russian language, it quickly acquired this shade. And during Soviet times, it was even harder to use the word ambition outside of a negative context.
The Big Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language, Kuznetsov’s Dictionary:
ambition
1. Heightened self-love, excessive conceit.
Example: To prove, to argue with ambition.
2. ambitions, -ций. disapproving
Claims, pretensions to something.
Example: To set aside one’s political ambitions.
By the way, “Russian with a Dictionary” is an interesting book.
