Inserting text with MathML

I have a quick question about MathML, can you have text placed before or after a MATHML equation 

i.e What does 

<math>
  <msqrt>
    <mrow>
      <mn>1</mn>
      <mo>-</mo>
      <mn>2</mn>
      <mi>x</mi>
      <mo>+</mo>
      <msup>
        <mi>x</mi>
        <mn>2</mn>
      </msup>
    </mrow>
  </msqrt>
</math>

calculate to ?  

Like in HTML where you use the <font> tag, is there a similar equivalent for MATHML.  I tried the above and it didn`t recognise the text.

(Using WebEq 2.5)

Regards

Derek Whyte
Software Tester