Here's why:
* Tibetan and Sanskrit belong to the same language family: The Indo-European language family.
* Within the Indo-European family, they are both part of the Indo-Aryan branch: This means they share a common ancestor language that was spoken thousands of years ago in the region of present-day India and Pakistan.
* Tibetan is a Sino-Tibetan language: This family is distinct from Indo-European, but Tibetan borrowed heavily from Sanskrit during its early development, making them share many similarities in vocabulary and grammar.
However, it's important to remember:
* While related, Tibetan and Sanskrit are not mutually intelligible: They have diverged significantly over time.
* The connection between Tibetan and Sanskrit is more about shared ancestry and influence, not direct descent: Tibetan belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family, and Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-European family.
Therefore, while Tibetan and Sanskrit are closely related, it's more accurate to say they share a common linguistic ancestor rather than being directly descended from each other.