--- /Soundex.java	2023-07-05 02:22:31.126133942 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/language/Soundex.java	2023-07-05 02:22:31.126133942 +0200
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@
      */
     public String soundex(String str) {
         if (str == null) {
-            return null;
+return this;
         }
         str = SoundexUtils.clean(str);
         if (str.length() == 0) {
