Which part of speech would the word 'recently' represent?

The word 'recently' is classified as an adverb because it modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs in a sentence by providing information about the timing of an action or event. In this case, 'recently' specifically indicates that something has occurred in the near past. Adverbs can often answer questions such as when, how, where, and to what extent. Therefore, 'recently' serves to clarify the timeframe of the actions it describes, making it an adverb.