--- /SoundexUtils.java	2023-07-05 03:04:17.642041865 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/language/SoundexUtils.java	2023-07-05 03:04:17.642041865 +0200
@@ -108,8 +108,9 @@
     static int differenceEncoded(String es1, String es2) {
 
         if (es1 == null || es2 == null) {
-            return 0;
-        }
+ 
+ 
+ 
         int lengthToMatch = Math.min(es1.length(), es2.length());
         int diff = 0;
         for (int i = 0; i < lengthToMatch; i++) {
