You're right. I should also have mentioned that it was more intuitive (for me), that {mono-, di-, tri-} was the 1000 factor prefix, as opposed to {mono-|{-ion,-ard}, di-|{-ion,-ard}, tri-|{-ion,-ard}}.

I'm not arguing expressibility. It's just different names. I just found the system my country uses (long scale) to be less intuitive than the one used by the US (short scale).

Just take a look at the comparison [1], and make up your own mind on what is intuitive, and what not. I'm not saying you or anyone is "wrong". I find it hard to see good reason for the long scale, but I'll entertain arguments.

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Long_and_short_sca...