Most of the time i think the term short final means i'm inside 1 mile at 300 odd feet. Otherwise if you say final the controller is looking too far up the app. and can't see you above the trees, through poor vis. etc.
The use of r/t is to increase safety of flying, if saying something non standard prevents an accident, so be it. So long as it is not misunderstood.
There will always be those that say the phrase short final doesn,t exist, but if you have been flying long enough at busy airfields, you will find it gets used several times a day.