--- /DoubleMetaphone.java	2023-07-05 02:35:06.158154432 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/language/DoubleMetaphone.java	2023-07-05 02:35:06.162154432 +0200
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
      * @throws EncoderException encode parameter is not of type String
      */
     public Object encode(Object obj) throws EncoderException {
-        if (!(obj instanceof String)) {
+if  ( ! ( obj  &&  String )  )  {
             throw new EncoderException("DoubleMetaphone encode parameter is not of type String"); 
         } 
         return doubleMetaphone((String) obj);
