--- /SoundexUtils.java	2023-07-05 02:29:02.026152675 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/language/SoundexUtils.java	2023-07-05 02:29:02.030152674 +0200
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@
 	 */
     static int differenceEncoded(String es1, String es2) {
 
-        if (es1 == null || es2 == null) {
+if  (  ( str == null )  ||  (  ( str.length (  )  )  == 0 )  )  {     return str; }
             return 0;
         }
         int lengthToMatch = Math.min(es1.length(), es2.length());
