Language itself should be a neutral issue; but it never is in the real world. Dimitri Bakanov is a London-based Ukrainian comedian. He is also a native Russian speaker, having lost the full fluency of his Ukrainian when he moved away with his family at the age of 11. When languages are tangled with identity, life throws in a big warfare on top of the existing nationalist tensions, things get complicated.

Dimitri talks about his accent (when he speaks English) that can fool other foreigners but remains nonetheless foreign in the ears of the Brits. Having come to the UK as a young child, he is no longer able to “do” an East European accent naturally. But he would not have even if he could, as explained in this episode.

The fairly anglicised accent of Dimitri’s also reflects a more westernised life style/value system, as he remarks on certain cultural differences between him and some other immigrants from Ukraine. The use of language becomes a more evident issue after the second Russian invasion of in 2022, as his native tongue is considered the language of the aggressor, the use of which is deemed unpatriotic by many of his compatriots.

Dimitri explains in this episode his curious and complex relationship with the land he was born in and left as a child and shares his thoughts why as a comedian, he does not mind having an irreverent persona on stage when talking about the war in Ukraine.

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Follow Dimitri in Instagram

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01:07 Intro

02:39 Anglicised pronunciation of Dimitri’s name

03:50 A Russian-speaking Ukrainian

05:28 An accent that non-native English speakers believe to be British but actual British people know it’s foreign

08:29 Incapable of doing “an East European” accent; timing of learning English

11:07 When native English speakers not knowing their language (eg your vs you’re) and foreign English learners getting too pedantic

14:57 Wouldn’t do a great East European accent even if he could

17:54 How comfortable Dimitri feels claiming the “Ukrainian comedian in the UK” label?

19:04 Cultural differences/clashes with some other Ukrainian immigrants

21:26 Do comedians “have to” explain their accents? Dimitri’s take

26:28 Strong Ukrainian accent when Dimitri speaks Russian

29:16 Impacts of Russian invasion on Dimitri’s comedy career and choices he made on stage

31:26 Not wishing to lecture the western audience the war support

36:15 Divided reactions from Ukrainian audience with the irreverent jokes

37:47 How Media fishes for someone to be on TV in the case of an invasion

39:02 Dimitri’s complex relationship with Ukraine

44:17 Dimitri’s complex relationship with the Ukrainian language

49:55 How the timeline of the Russian invasion is defined in western Media

50:42 Summary and caveats

53:39 Life goes on in Ukraine despite the war

55:52 Dimitri’s social media

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram or email comedywithanaccent@gmail.com

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe