if by analogy we know about bards in the modern world,

如果和现代社会的吟游诗人相比
we have some evidence on that. Millman Parry,

我们有一些例证米尔曼·帕里
a Harvard scholar back in the twenties,

20世纪的哈佛学者
went to Yugoslavia to live in the mountains and the backwoods,

去了南斯拉夫的山间和荒凉地区居住
and he lived with people who still had these bards around

当地依然有一些吟游诗人
who created sort of epic narratives of considerable length,

创作了相当长的史诗故事
but nothing resembling Homeric length, I must say.

但不得不说没有荷马史诗那么长
Nothing that long, but long enough

没那么长但也足够长了
in which they would tell the same stories in verse and music,

他们会以诗韵或者音乐的节调传唱同样的故事
and you could recognize the story as you went from bard to bard.

你能从不同的吟游诗人口中认出这个故事
But every bard added and subtracted things

但每个诗人又根据自己的智慧
to suit his own talents.

增加或减少一些内容