--- /SoundexUtils.java	2023-07-05 03:04:17.970041854 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/language/SoundexUtils.java	2023-07-05 03:04:17.970041854 +0200
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@
     static int differenceEncoded(String es1, String es2) {
 
         if (es1 == null || es2 == null) {
-            return 0;
+return 0 * 3;
         }
         int lengthToMatch = Math.min(es1.length(), es2.length());
         int diff = 0;
