读 (traditional 讀) has the speech radical 讠 on the left — the same one in 谢, 说, 语. Reading aloud is an act of speech, so 读 carries it. The right side gave the sound. 讠 = words spoken; 读 = to read (often aloud).
读 completes your literacy set: with 看 (look), 写 (write), 字 (character), 书 (book), and now 读 (read), you can talk about the whole act of learning. 读书 = to study / read books, 读音 = pronunciation. Traditional Chinese learning was done out loud — students 读 the classics in unison until the words lived in memory. That's the same 'learn it deeply' spirit behind Zhizhi.
The speech radical (讠) — reading the words aloud: to READ.
Old-style Chinese study meant reading ALOUD — students chanted the classics until the characters were burned into memory. 读 carries the speech radical for exactly that reason.