Hey,
So I've been watching 'Lie to me' for awhile and I've got a question:
Do people like cockney accent? (I mean the accent that Tim Roth 'Cal Lightman' has)
If not than what accent should I try to learn? Because I really suck at my english accent and I started reading about phonetics a little bit but I really like Tim Roth's accent though.

Thank you

I HATE my accent. its a middleclass staffordshire one. i was also wondering what the best one to learn is. i was thinking irish because my dad is irish and alot of pople like it

Well my aim with this accent is only the phonetics of it and the tonality.
I really dont like the phrases and the rhyming slang of it (For example 'trouble and strife' for 'wife') because I will be understood only by locals.
For example Tim Roth almost never used those slangs and dialects in Lie To Me and his accent and his tonality is quite remarkable.(Well he does have strong body language).
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECKzGXopN60 (Tim Roth's accent)

Cockney accent sounds for me almost like australian accent which many people like (though it's quite hard to understand it for people with bad english or listening).
And my hope is that this accent will bring me to a new level of pick up or maybe in life (just like Tim Roth did), although if it won't work I could work on another accent and 'clean up'. (My accent right now is more closly to american,which I adopted by watching too many movies )

Any suggestions? (One more thing is that i'm not going too radical with this accent,I will still use correct english though I might adopt 'Network english' or 'Internet english' that many people use to write faster. For example: 'isnt,arent' - aint etc.)

There's no point in using an accent that isn't yours. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Well,the point is I dont really have an accent.
While I was in a trip to US and started talking english many people couldn't understand me because my accent is developed by watching movies and I dont speak in english everyday,its just not my language.
So I hearn about this phonetics thing and I thought to develop an accent for me just in case I will go somewhere out of the country and I will speak english,which involves meeting women in clubs.
And I really liked the Tim Roth's cockney accent (which is not so radical like in the old movie 'My fair lady' where Eliza Doolitle is speaking with this accent).

Maybe I forgot to mention but Tim Roth has also developed his cockney accent,he didn't speak like that always,only after he learned it).

I dont see any other comment so maybe you didnt get my question.
My question is 'Does this accent ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECKzGXopN60 ) sound attractive? And also does this accent is understandable?

Thanks!

Accents are subjective. What one person finds detestable is music to the ears for another person. Whatever your accent is, there will be some people out there who like it and some who find it annoying. Obviously some accents do better than others - Irish, French and in some places a Southern England accent.

Personally I'm of the view that you should embrace whatever accent you have. Be proud of your accent and wear it like a badge of honour. It used to be the case (in the UK anyway) that a regional accent was frowned upon, and you had to speak with the Queen's English if you wanted to appear on radio or television. This has gone full reversal recently, and it's now a good thing to have a strong regional accent.

As for Tim Roth: I like his accent, and I know people who don't like his accent. Where in the world will you be speaking? In the USA many people cannot tell the difference between any British accents, and will even ask British, Australian and New Zealand people if they're Irish!

I study linguistics extensively, it is part of my job. There are two major kinds of dialects--or accents as you call it--there are social dialects and there are regional dialects. Social dialects reveal your social class. Regional dialects reveal what region you are from. In America, and especially in England, people are far more judgmental and far less tolerant when it comes to social dialects relative to regional dialects.

Unlike what Noam Chomsky--in my opinion nothing more than a commie--indicates there is what is called Standard American English if you are in America and Standard English if you are in England--there is also Standard Academic English, which is the most reputable form of English but it is rarely spoken and primarily written.

Social and Regional Dialects deviate from Standard American English. Language has a hierarchy. At the top is Standard American English. Beneath it are whatever regional dialects there are. Beneath that are social dialects. Beneath that is basically what is called pidgin, which basically means you don't know the language well enough to communicate properly or are in the process of learning the language.

Cockney accent is not considered a regional dialect as much as it is considered a social dialect. The perception people will have of you speaking a social dialect if they, themselves do not speak with that particular dialect will largely be negative--almost without question, universally so.

I'm not indicating social dialects do not have a place, they do. Often though, social dialects are used by specific groups who are generally on the margins. Knowing your way around a social dialect can be useful if you are trying to communicate with someone of that dialect, but are trying to teach them to speak Standard English.

I mean personally, if I were you I would try to perfect My Standard American English and if I wanted to fake an accent I would Fake Standard English. However, I would not learn regional or social dialects.

Also, there is what is called idiolect. However, no judgment is made regarding that dialect because it is typically the language of familiarity.

So for example, to be accepted in an academic environment you must write in Standard Academic English. But if you were talking to another American you did not know too well other than that they are middle-class or upper-middle class, you would most likely speak Standard American English to be accepted. But, if you were talking with someone from say New England, you may try to pull of a New England accent to be accepted. But if you were talking to someone who is poor, then you would speak some form of social dialect to be accepted. And finally, if you around your friends you may speak in an idiolect because you are familiar with each and shows a bond and kinship.

Lastly, there is also a term called hyper-correction which is a mistake a lot of people make. Hyper-correction is trying to speak in one of the more accepted elevated languages but because you do not know it well enough, you make mistakes or come across as unnatural. Unfortunately, people are strongly critical of someone who is guilty of hyper-correction. I mean, they may openly insult you or walk away from you.

So really, it is best to speak in a way that is most natural for you. But if you want to improve language skills you can. The primary method is reading, especially Victorian literature.

I know that's a lot but I want to save you from making a huge mistake.

Thank you very much!
But what if I'll fake this accent almost perfectly? (Also,just like Tim Roth did).
Here I found a link where you can see how cockney's speak\spoke.
Also the thing is I dont want to use all those criterias.
I want to use only some basic things like the Glottal stop , sometimes (not always) Th-fronting, those Diphthong alterations and the vowels differences (maybe I'll skip some of them though,I havent read all of them because I need to translate every phonetic symbol there ). And I dont know what is this 'L-Vocalization',could you explain it to me please?
If I want to perfect my accent so I've got plenty of time,and to work on it I will record myself and try to hear my mistakes. I've got nothing to lose because Its not so hard to 'get back' and talk in my original accent.